Fuaeth/ 

of  the  Statement 

of  the  Jews  in 

the  United 

^States 


UC-NRLF 


3D1    7D3 


• 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIFT  OF* 


•> 


:  .S 


' 


TheTwo  Hundred  and 

Fiftieth  Anniversary 

of  the  Settlement 

of  the  Jews  in 

the  United 

States 


\ 

*A  •  i  r  f  R  >J 

Addresses  delivered  at 
Carnegie  Hall,  New  \&rk, 
on  Thanksgiving1  Day^ 

MCMV 

Together  with  other  select 
ed  addresses  and  proceedings, 


Copyright,  1906,  by 
THE  NEW  YORK  CO-OPERATIVE  SOCIETY 


PREFACE 

The  success  of  the  celebration  of  the  Two  Hundred 
and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  Jewish  Settlement  in 
America,  and  the  valuable  contributions  to  American 
Jewish  history  that  it  has  occasioned,  have  induced 
the  Executive  Committee  to  preserve  and  reproduce 
in  more  permanent  form  a  number  of  typical  ad 
dresses,  communications,  and  editorial  writings,  se 
lected  from  the  great  mass  of  interesting  and  instruct 
ive  material,  remarkable  for  its  excellence  both  as  to 
matter  and  literary  quality,  called  forth  by  the  hun 
dreds  of  public  meetings  held  in  the  latter  days  of 
November,  1905,  in  conformity  with  the  recommenda 
tions  of  the  Committee.  To  publish  all  would  require 
many  volumes  of  huge  bulk.  It  has,  therefore,  become 
necessary  to  resort  to  an  arbitrary  rule  of  selection. 
Obviously,  the  proceedings  held  at  Carnegie  Hall,  in 
the  City  of  New  York,  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  being 
national  in  scope,  constitute  the  nucleus  of  the  compila 
tion.  Around  these  have  been  grouped  a  few  of  the 
many  addresses  delivered  at  such  old  or  important  cen 
ters  of  Jewish  population  as  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
Chicago,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  Albany, 
and  San  Francisco.  That  circumstances  have  rendered 
any  omissions  necessary  is  a  source  of  sincere  regret. 
It  may  not  be  inappropriate  to  briefly  sketch  the 
history  of  the  movement  whose  culmination  has  been 

[v] 


the  source  of  universal  gratification,  and  will,  it  is 
hoped,  lead  to  a  better  understanding  of  the  Amer 
ican  Jew  as  an  element  in  our  population,  not  only 
by  the  public  generally,  but  by  the  Jew  himself. 

On  February  27th,  1905,  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Congregation  Shearith  Israel  of  New  York,  the 
oldest  Jewish  congregation  in  the  United  States,  ap 
pointed  a  general  committee  of  the  congregation  to 
consider  the  propriety  of  celebrating  the  Two  Hun 
dred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Jewish  com 
munity  in  New  York.  This  committee  invited  the  offi 
cers  of  various  Jewish  congregations  and  charities  to 
attend  a  public  meeting  at  the  vestry  rooms  of  the 
synagogue  on  Sunday,  April  9th,  1905.  Concur 
rently,  the  American  Jewish  Historical  Society  at  its 
thirteenth  annual  meeting  held  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  on 
February  28th,  1905,  had  instructed  its  Executive 
Council  to  cooperate  with  other  organizations  in  the 
proper  commemoration  of  the  event.  At  the  public 
meeting  in  New  York,  Louis  Marshall,  Esq.,  presid 
ing,  and  Hon.  N.  Taylor  Phillips  acting  as  secretary, 
it  was  unanimously  resolved,  upon  motion  of  Rev. 
Dr.  H.  Pereira  Mendes,  "  that  a  Committee  of  Fifteen 
be  appointed  by  the  chairman  of  this  meeting  to  make 
arrangements  for  a  celebration  at  some  time  during 
the  present  year  of  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth 
Anniversary  of  the  foundation  of  the  Jewish  com 
munity  in  the  City  of  New  York,  and  for  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  permanent  memorial  of  that  important 
historic  event,  such  Committee  to  have  full  power  to 
carry  such  arrangements  into  effect,  and  to  increase 
its  number,  if  deemed  advisable."  The  chairman  and 
[vi] 


secretary  were  added  as  members  of  this  committee. 
It  was  the  sense  of  the  meeting  that  the  celebration 
should  be  national  in  scope,  as  commemorating  the 
first  officially  authorized  settlement  of  Jews  within 
the  present  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  that  the 
particular  event  to  be  commemorated  be  the  grant  of 
official  leave  of  settlement,  dated  April  26th,  1655, 
from  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  though  it 
would  probably  be  most  convenient  to  hold  the  cele 
bration  in  the  fall.  The  text  of  this  grant  reads  as 
follows : 

«26th  of  April,  1655. 

"  We  would  have  liked  to  agree  to  your  wishes  and  re 
quest  that  the  new  territories  should  not  be  further  in 
vaded  by  people  of  the  Jewish  race,  for  we  foresee  from 
such  immigration  the  same  difficulties  which  you  fear,  but 
after  having  further  weighed  and  considered  the  matter, 
we  observe  that  it  would  be  unreasonable  and  unfair,  es 
pecially  because  of  the  considerable  loss  sustained  by  the 
Jews  in  the  taking  of  Brazil,  and  also  because  of  the  large 
amount  of  capital  which  they  have  invested  in  shares  of 
this  company.  After  many  consultations  we  have  decided 
and  resolved  upon  a  certain  petition  made  by  said  Portu 
guese  Jews,  that  they  shall  have  permission  to  sail  to  and 
trade  in  New  Netherland  and  to  live  and  remain  there, 
provided  the  poor  among  them  shall  not  become  a  burden 
to  the  company  or  to  the  community,  but  be  supported  by 
their  own  nation.  You  will  govern  yourself  accordingly." 

The  chairman  of  the  meeting  thereupon  appointed 

the  following  Executive  Committee:  Jacob  H.  Schiff, 

chairman;  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler,  Hon.  Samuel  Greenbaum, 

Daniel  Guggenheim,  Prof.  Jacob  H.  Hollander,  Max 

[vii] 


J.  Kohler,  Hon.  Edward  Lauterbach,  Adolph  Lewi- 
sohn,  Louis  Marshall,  Rev.  Dr.  H.  Pereira  Mendes, 
Hon.  N.  Taylor  Phillips,  Hon.  Simon  W.  Rosendale, 
William  Salomon,  Isaac  N.  Seligman,  Louis  Stern, 
Hon.  Oscar  S.  Straus,  and  Hon.  Mayer  Sulzberger. 
The  committee  organized  by  the  appointment  of  Mr. 
Schiff  as  chairman,  Mr.  Seligman  as  treasurer,  and 
Mr.  Kohler  as  honorary  secretary.  A  General  Com 
mittee,  composed  of  representative  Jews  residing  in 
every  State  and  Territory  of  the  United  States,  was 
subsequently  constituted,  their  names  appearing  post 
(p.  258).  ' 

Arrangements  were  in  due  time  made  to  hold  a 
public  celebration  at  Carnegie  Hall,  New  York  City, 
on  November  30th  (Thanksgiving  Day),  1905,  and 
to  recommend  holding  commemoratory  religious  serv 
ices  on  the  Saturday  and  Sunday  before  Thanksgiv 
ing  Day  in  the  various  synagogues  and  Sabbath 
schools  throughout  the  land.  A  special  order  of  serv 
ice  was  prepared  under  the  auspices  of  the  committee 
for  use  at  the  synagogues,  including  a  special  prayer 
for  the  occasion,  which  is  to  be  found  post  (p.  253). 

Such  religious  services  were  held,  the  various  con 
gregational  Unions  and  Rabbinical  Conferences  join 
ing  in  the  Executive  Committee's  recommendation. 
Appropriate  exercises  were  also  held  on  or  about 
Thanksgiving  Day  under  the  auspices  of  various 
Jewish  lodges,  Young  Men's  Hebrew  Associations, 
sections  of  the  Council  of  Jewish  Women,  Jewish 
Chautauqua  circles,  and  orphan  asylums,  and  in  a 
number  of  instances,  general  local  celebrations  of  an 
impressive  character  were  also  held, 
[viii] 


The  Executive  Committee  also  distributed  litera 
ture  bearing  on  the  celebration  among  individuals 
likely  to  be  interested,  including  a  pamphlet  (see 
reprint  in  Appendix)  prepared  for  it,  entitled  "  Notes 
Relating  to  the  Celebration  of  the  Two  Hundred 
and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Settlement  of  the 
Jews  in  the  United  States,"  and  a  reprint  of  the 
article  prepared  by  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler  for  Volume  I 
of  the  "  Jewish  Encyclopedia  "  on  the  history  of  the 
Jews  in  America. 

The  erection  of  a  suitable  memorial  of  the  event 
celebrated  was  likewise  planned.  A  fund  of  upward 
of  $100,000  was  to  be  collected  by  voluntary  sub 
scriptions  from  the  Jews  of  the  United  States  to  de 
fray  the  cost,  but  this  plan  was  abandoned  by  resolu 
tion  of  the  Executive  Committee,  adopted  November 
12th,  1905,  after  a  considerable  sum  had  been  col 
lected,  because  "  the  demands  on  the  generosity  of  the 
Jews  of  America,  necessitated  by  the  horrors  resulting 
from  the  recent  massacres  in  Russia,  make  it  impera 
tive  that  every  energy  be  directed  to  the  immediate 
relief  of  the  distress  of  our  unfortunate  brethren 
there,"  and  it  was  feared  that  funds  might  be  diverted 
to  this  Memorial  Fund,  which  might  otherwise  go  to 
the  Russian  Relief  Fund. 

It  was,  however,  decided  that  plans,  previously  ap 
proved,  for  the  publication  and  distribution  of  a 
popular  "  History  of  the  Jews  in  the  United  States," 
to  be  issued  with  the  cooperation  of  the  Jewish  Pub 
lication  Society  of  America  and  the  American  Jewish 
Historical  Society,  should  be  carried  out,  and  that 
this  volume  of  proceedings  should  also  be  issued, 

[ix] 


funds  for  this  purpose  having  been  contributed  from 
all  parts  of  the  country. 

An  anonymous  donor  has  generously  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  committee  the  means  for  defraying 
the  cost  of  an  appropriate  commemoratory  medal 
(see  Frontispiece),  designed  and  modeled  by  the  dis 
tinguished  Jewish  sculptor,  Isidore  Konti,  which  is  to 
symbolize  the  ideals  embodied  in  this  anniversary. 
This  medal,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  completed  during  the 
spring  of  1906. 

THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PROGRAMME  OF  EXERCISES  AT  CARNEGIE  HALL  .  .  1 
OPENING  PRAYER  BY  REV.  DR.  SILVERMAN  ...  5 
INTRODUCTION  BY  JACOB  H.  SCHIFF  .  .  .  8 

ADDRESS  BY  EX-PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND  .  .  .11 
LETTER  FROM  PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT  ....  18 
TELEGRAM  FROM  VICE-PRESIDENT  FAIRBANKS  .  .21 
ADDRESS  BY  GOVERNOR  HIGGINS  .....  23 
ADDRESS  BY  MAYOR  MCCLELLAN  .  .  .  .  .26 
ORATION  BY  JUDGE  MAYER  SULZBERGER  ...  30 

ADDRESS  BY  BISHOP  GREER 49 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  H.  PEREIRA  MENDES        .       .     58 

ADDRESSES   DELIVERED   IN   BOSTON 

ADDRESS  BY  LEE  M.  FRIEDMAN 63 

ADDRESS  BY  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR  GUILD  .  .  65 
ADDRESS  BY  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS  ...  .  .69 

ADDRESS  BY  PRESIDENT  ELIOT 78 

ADDRESS  BY  BISHOP  LAWRENCE 84 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  FLEISCHER  .       .       .       .     89 

SELECTED  ADDRESSES 

ADDRESS  BY  Louis  MARSHALL 95 

ADDRESS  BY  DR.  S.  SOLIS  COHEN 106 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  KRAUSKOPF         .       .       .       .121 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  KOHLER 131 

[xi] 


PAGB 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  PHILIPSON  .       .  ...  136 

ADDRESS  BY  JUDGE  J.  W.  MACK  .....   142 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  HIRSCH  .       .  .       .        .   148 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  HELLER  .  ,     .  .       .        .164 

ADDRESS  BY  GOVERNOR  PARDEE  .        .  .       .        .   172 

ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  VOORSANGER      „.-.  .       .        .183 

LETTER  FROM  GOVERNOR  FOLK  .       .  .       .       .194 

APPENDIX 

I.  SELECTED    EDITORIAL   UTTERANCES    FROM    THE    NEWS 
PAPER    PRESS 

The  Hebrew  in  America 

From  the  Atlanta  Constitution     .        .        .        .199 

The  Jewish  Race 

From  the  Boston  Post   .        .        .       .       ...  201 

The  Jewish  Celebration 

From  the  Brooklyn  Eagle 204 

The  Rise  of  the  Jews 

From  the  Denver  Republican       .       .       .        .  208 

A  Jewish  Festival 

From  the  Mexico  City  Herald    .       .       .       .210 

Jewish  Idealism 

From  the  New  York  Evening  Post   .        .        .   213 

The  Jewish  Thanksgiving 

From  the  New  York  Globe         .       .        .        .217 

The  Jew  in  American  Life 

From  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce  and 

Commercial  Bulletin 220 

The  Jews  in  America 

From  the  New  York  Times        .        .        .        .224 

[xii] 


The  Jews  in  America 

From  the  Philadelphia  Record  ....  228 
The  Jews  in  America 

From  the  Washington  Star  ....  229 
From  Rev.  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott 

Editor  oi  the  Outlook    .        .        .       .        .        .231 

II.  CORRESPONDENCE 

England  to  America       .......    233 

America  to  England 236 

III.  FROM  A  PAMPHLET  ENTITLED   "  NOTES  RELATING 

TO  THE  CELEBRATION  OF  THE  Two  HUN 
DRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE 
SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  JEWS  IN  THE  UNITED 

STATES" 

Introduction     .        .        .        .  .        .        .        .    242 

Notes 244 

IV.  ORDER  OF  SERVICE  FOR  USE  ON  THE  SABBATH 

BEFORE  THANKSGIVING  DAY,  1905      .        .   253 

V.  COMMITTEES  IN  CHARGE  OF  THE  GENERAL  CELE 
BRATION 

Executive  Committee 257 

General  Committee        ...  .    258 


[  xiii  ] 


EXERCISES    IN     CELEBRATION     OF    THE 
TWO  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVER 
SARY  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  JEWS 
IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  1655-1905 

CARNEGIE  HALL,  NEW  YORK  CITY, 
THANKSGIVING  DAY,  NOVEMBER  30,  1905 


PROGRAMME 

1.  OVERTURE          .          .          •          Mendelssohn 

"  March  of  Priests  "  from  "  Athalie  " 

2.  PRAYER 

Reverend  JOSEPH  SILVERMAN,  D.D. 
Rabbi  Temple  Emanu-El,  New  York  City 

3.  CHORUS         ...         .         Mendelssohn 

From  Oratorio  "  Elijah" 

"He  watching  over  Israel,  slumbers  not,  nor  sleeps. 
Should'st  thou,  walking  in  grief,  languish,  He  will  quicken 
thee." 

4.  INTRODUCTION 

JACOB  H.  SCHIFF,  Esq. 
Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 

5.  ADDRESS 

Honorable  GROVER  CLEVELAND 

en 


6.  KOL   NIDRE         ....         Bruch 

Solo  Violoncello,  MR.  LEO  SCHULZ 

7.  ADDRESS        .        *        . 

Honorable  FRANK  W.  HIGGINS 
Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York 

8.  ADDRESS         .         .        .        . 

Honorable  GEORGE  B.  MCCLELLAN 
Mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York 

9.  LARGO Handel 

For  Chorus,  String  Orchestra,  Harp  and  Organ 

Solo  Violin,  Mr.  DAVID  MANNES 

"  Trust  in  the  Lord, 
His  name  we  ever  bless 
In  grief  and  happiness 
With  one  accord. 
He  ordered  all  our  ways, 
To  Him  ascend  our  lays 
In  praise  and  pray'r: 
Until  our  journey's  end, 
O  Lord,  our  souls  defend 
With  watchful  care." 

10.  ORATION 

Honorable  MAYER  SULZBERGER 

11.  CHORUS         ....         Mendelssohn 

"  Thanks  be  to  God,"  from  «  Elijah  " 

"  Thanks  be  to  God,  He  laveth  the  thirsty  land.  The 
waters  gather,  they  rush  along !  They  are  lifting  their  voices ! 
The  stormy  billows  are  high,  their  fury  is  mighty;  but  the 
Lord  is  above  them,  and  Almighty." 

12.  ADDRESS 

The  Right  Reverend  DAVID  H.  GREER,  D.D. 
Bishop  Coadjutor  of  New  York 


13.  ADDRESS 

Reverend  H.  PEREIRA  MENDES,  D.D. 
Rabbi  Spanish  and  Portuguese  Synagogue,  New  York  City 

14.  ADON  OLAM         .         .         .         .         . 
Downtown  Cantors'  Association  of  New  York 

(To  be  sung  in  Hebrew.     The  English  translation 
is  as  follows:) 

Lord  over  all !    Whose  power  the  scepter  swayed, 
Ere  first  Creation's  wondrous  form  was  framed, 

When  by  His  will  divine  all  things  were  made; 
Then,  King,  Almighty  was  His  name  proclaimed. 

When  all  shall  cease— the  universe  be  o'er, 

In  awful  greatness  He  alone  will  reign, 
Who  was,  Who  is,  and  Who  will  evermore 

In  glory  most  refulgent  still  remain. 

Sole  God!  unequaled  and  beyond  compare, 

Without  division  or  associate; 
Without  commencing  date,  or  final  year, 

Omnipotent  He  reigns  in  awful  state. 

He  is  my  God!  my  living  Saviour  He! 

My  sheltering  Rock  in  sad  misfortune's  hour! 
My  standard,  refuge,  portion,  still  shall  be, 

My  lot's  disposer  when  I  seek  His  power. 

Into  His  hands  my  spirit  I  consign 

Whilst  wrapped  in  sleep,  that  I  again  may  wake 

And  with  my  soul,  my  body  I  resign; 

The  Lord's  with  me — no  fears  my  soul  can  shake. 

15.  CHORUS  AND  AUDIENCE 

"  My  Country !  'tis  of  thee  " 

1  2 

My  country!  'tis  of  thee,  My  native  country,  thee, 

Sweet  land  of  liberty,  Land  of  the  noble  free, 

Of  thee  I  sing:    "  Thy  name  I  love; 

Land,  where  my  fathers  died,  I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 

Land  of  the  pilgrim's  pride,  Thy  woods  and  templed  hills; 

From  every  mountain  side  My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 

Let  freedom  ring!  Like  that  above. 

[3] 


3  4 

Let  music  swell  the  breeze,  Our  fathers'  God!  to  thee, 

And  ring  from  all  the  trees  Author  of  liberty, 

Sweet  freedom's  song:  To  thee  we  sing: 

Let  mortal  tongues  awake,  Long  may  our  land  be  bright 

Let  all  that  breathe  partake,  With  freedom's  holy  light; 

Let  rocks  their  sijence  break,  Protect  us  with  Thy  might, 

The  sound  prolong.  Great  God,  our  King. 

16.  BENEDICTION        .... 

Reverend  RUDOLPH  GROSSMAN,  D.D. 
Rabbi  Congregation  Rodeph  Sholom,  New  York  City 

A  letter  from  the  President  of  the  United  States 
will  be  read  in  the  course  of  the  proceedings. 


The  musical  programme  is  in  charge  of  Dr.  Frank  Damrosch,  as 
sisted  by  members  of  the  People's  Choral  Union,  who  have  most  cour 
teously  volunteered  their  services,  and  by  the  New  York  Symphony  Or 
chestra.  Mr.  Frank  L.  Sealy  at  the  organ. 


[4] 


OPENING   PRAYER   BY    REV.    DR.    JOSEPH 
SILVERMAN 

Almighty  Father,  source  of  light  and  life,  we  revere 
Thee  as  the  Providence  that  guides  the  affairs  of  man 
and  the  destinies  of  nations.  Thou  sendest  forth  Thy 
ministers  to  destroy  what  is  false  and  evil  and  to  plant 
what  is  true  and  good. 

Throughout  the  ages  Thou  hast  been  the  Guardian 
of  Israel,  who  sleepest  not,  nor  slumberest — a  pillar  of 
cloud  to  lead  them  by  day  and  a  pillar  of  fire  to  show 
them  the  way  at  night.  In  the  dark  days  of  bondage, 
of  wanderings  and  exile,  of  servitude  under  foreign 
masters,  Thou  hast  ever  been  Israel's  comfort,  prop 
and  hope. 

Our  forefathers  labored  and  struggled  for  con 
viction  and  faith.  We  have  received  the  heritage  of 
Israel  and  shall  bravely  bear  all  trials  in  the  service 
of  truth  and  justice.  But  not  unto  us  is  the  glory; 
Thine,  O  Lord,  are  the  power,  the  glory,  and  the 
majesty. 

We  thank  Thee  with  deep-felt  gratitude,  that 
Thou  hast  cast  our  lot  in  pleasant  places,  that  Thou 
didst  guide  our  ancestors  to  this  land  of  liberty,  and 
didst  prosper  them  in  the  days  of  yore. 

We  thank  Thee  for  America,  this  haven  of  refuge 
for  the  oppressed  of  the  world.  We  thank  Thee  for 
the  blessings  of  a  permanent  home  in  this  country, 
its  opportunities  for  development  of  life  and  advance 
ment  of  mind  and  heart,  for  its  independence  and 
unity,  its  free  institutions,  the  rights  to  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  We  reverently  bow  be- 

[5] 


fore  Thy  decree,  which  has  taught  us  to  find  endur 
ing  peace  and  security  in  the  sure  foundation  of  this 
blessed  land. 

Here  we  have  established  our  habitations  and  taber 
nacles,  here  we  have  erected  our  synagogues  and  homes 
for  the  needy,  the  orphans  and  widows,  the  sick  and 
forlorn,  and  we  fervently  pray  that  we  may  be  per 
mitted  to  abide  here  forever  in  prosperity  and  in  amity 
with  all  the  people  of  the  land. 

Mindful  of  all  the  blessings  we  enjoy  in  this  land, 
we  are  grateful  unto  Thee  for  the  contrast  presented 
to-day  between  the  country  of  freedom  and  the 
country  of  Russian  slavery — between  this  nation  of 
justice  and  peace  and  the  Eastern  land  of  tyranny 
and  destruction. 

We  pray  unto  Thee,  the  Ruler  of  nations,  to  spread 
Thy  wings  of  protection  over  our  common  country. 
Bless  the  President  and  his  counselors  and  the  mag 
istrates  and  legislators  of  the  nation,  and  of  every 
state  and  city  in  the  Union.  Keep  far  from  our  be 
loved  land  the  ravages  of  sword,  fire,  flood,  and  pesti 
lence.  May  no  foe  from  within  or  without  threaten 
its  peace  and  integrity.  May  this  land  advance  to 
ward  ever  higher  planes  of  truth  and  justice  to  the 
end  that  America  may  become  the  bearer  of  peace  to 
all  the  nations  of  the  world. 

We  pray  also  for  our  suffering  brethren  who,  in  a 
distant  land,  are  passing  through  the  fire  that  con- 
sumeth  and  the  water  that  overwhelmeth.  Stay  the 
hand  of  the  oppressor,  dull  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and 
divert  the  course  of  the  deadly  weapon.  Send  forth 
Thy  ministering  angels  to  heal  the  afflicted  and  bind 

[6] 


up  the  broken-hearted.  And  let  all  men  learn  and 
practice  the  wise  teaching,  to  love  the  Lord  their  God 
with  all  their  heart  and  soul  and  might,  and  to  love 
their  fellow-men  as  themselves.  Speed  the  time,  O 
God,  when  all  men  shall  believe  the  truth  and  shall 
practice  what  they  profess.  Amen. 


[7] 


INTRODUCTION  BY  JACOB  H.  SCHIFF 

When  some  months  since  it  was  decided  to  cele 
brate  the  settlement  of  Jews  in  the  United  States, 
and  in  this  very  city,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago,  the  people  of  the  Jewish  faith  throughout  the 
land  felt  glad  and  proud,  because  this  beloved  coun 
try  of  their  adoption  had  become  the  great  ex 
ponent  of  human  liberties  and  of  freedom  of  con 
science,  furnishing  an  example  to  the  world  how  great 
and  powerful  a  people  can  become,  who  give  equal 
opportunity  to  all,  no  matter  what  their  origin  or 
their  profession  of  faith  may  be.  But  our  gladness 
has  received  a  shock,  our  hopes  and  expectations  have 
for  the  time  being  become  dispelled.  The  brother 
hood  of  man,  our  prophets  have  taught  us  to  look  for 
ward  to,  still  remains  a  dream,  the  realization  of  which 
the  events  of  this  very  month  have  once  more  removed 
into  the  distant  future.  Racial  prejudice  and  hatred 
are  still  rampant;  the  Jew  still  remains  the  martyr, 
whose  life  must  be  sacrificed,  so  that  freedom  and  en 
lightenment,  for  which  he  has  ever  battled,  shall  tri 
umph  even  in  darkest  Russia. 

But  though  we  sorrow,  we  feel  we  should  rejoice 
and  celebrate,  because  America  did  become  in  cen 
turies  gone  by  the  home  of  people  of  our  race  and 
faith,  and  is  now  our  own  home  and  the  home  of  our 
children. 

Indeed,  I  am  grateful  for  the  honor,  which  has  so 
graciously  been  bestowed  upon  me,  to  preside  over 
this  celebration ;  and  before  I  exercise  the  great  privi 
lege  to  present  to  you  the  honored  speakers  of  the 

[8] 


day,  I  ask  to  be  permitted  to  give  expression  in  a 
few  words  to  the  feelings  which  animate  us  upon  this 
momentous  occasion. 

When,  in  1655,  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
people  of  our  race  and  faith  first  set  foot  upon  these 
shores  to  become  permanent  settlers,  hardly  a  cen 
tury  and  a  half  had  passed  since  Columbus  had  un 
locked  the  gates  of  this  hemisphere  to  the  civilized 
world.  Thus  the  heritage  which  the  great  Genoese 
presented  to  mankind  was  availed  of  by  our  own 
people  at  so  early  a  period  of  the  development  of  the 
New  World  that  we  believe  we  are  justified  in  the 
claim  that  this  is  our  country,  to  a  like  extent  as  it 
has  become  the  country  of  other  early  and  later 
comers,  in  common  with  whom  we  have  built  this  great 
nation,  of  which  we  now  form  part  and  parcel. 

Look  at  the  record  of  the  wonderful  and  glorious 
progress  and  development  of  our  country,  and  upon 
every  page  will  be  found  the  name  of  the  Jew  as 
having  rendered  meritorious  and  patriotic  service. 
Not  that  we  claim  that  the  Jewish  citizen  has  at  any 
time  done  more  than  his  simple  duty ;  but  in  the  at 
tempt,  so  frequently  made,  to  consider  us  a  foreign 
element,  it  is  well  and  proper,  upon  an  occasion  like 
the  present,  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years  ago,  and  ever  since,  the  Jew  who  has 
landed  on  these  shores  has  come  to  this  country  to 
throw  his  lot  with  its  people,  to  share  their  burdens, 
to  benefit  by  their  opportunities,  to  become  an  Amer 
ican,  in  the  best  meaning  of  this  proud  title  and  all  it 
stands  for. 

And  having  said  this,  we  may  add  that,  as  Jews,  we 

[9] 


are  ever  mindful  of  the  untold  blessing  which  the  fact, 
that  the  beacon  light  of  human  liberty  and  freedom 
is  kept  burning  brightly  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  brings  not  only  to  those  of  their  race  whose 
good  fortune  it  is  to  be  among  the  dwellers  within 
this  blessed  land,  but  even  to  their  brethren  in  faith  in 
foreign  lands,  who  still  suffer  under  restrictions  un 
worthy  of  modern  civilization — and  who,  I  must  sor 
rowfully  add,  in  the  light  of  recent  events,  are  still 
made  the  victims  of  the  lowest  human  passions  and 
prejudice.  Because  of  this  great  blessing  the  United 
States  is  bestowing  upon  mankind,  the  Jew  everywhere 
is  an  ardent  admirer  of  America  and  her  people,  and 
everywhere  his  face  is  set  longingly  and  hopefully 
toward  these  shores. 

We  who  are  Americans  pledge  ourselves  anew,  upon 
this  momentous  occasion,  to  our  fellow-citizens,  from 
whatever  race  they  may  have  sprung  or  whatever  faith 
they  may  profess,  that  we  shall  ever  stand  ready  to 
be  one  with  them  in  every  endeavor  to  further  aug 
ment  the  greatness  of  this,  our  beloved  common  coun 
try,  and  the  respect  in  which  it  is  held  throughout  the 
world.  

I  now  have  the  honor  to  present  to  you  one  who  is 
foremost  among  the  great  statesmen  this  country  has 
produced ;  one  who,  you  will  all  agree  with  me,  unites 
in  himself  all  the  qualities  which  go  to  make  up  the 
type  of  the  ideal  American,  a  man  to  whom  we  will 
ingly  look  for  guidance  and  emulation — 

Ex-President  Grover  Cleveland. 

[10] 


ADDRESS  BY  EX-PRESIDENT  GROVER 
CLEVELAND 

ME.  CHAIRMAN  AND  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN: 
Among  the  large  enterprises  and  undertakings  which 
have  become  familiar  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  there  may  be  mentioned  the  extravagant  cele 
bration,  especially  in  these  latter  days,  of  all  sorts 
of  anniversaries  and  events.  Many  of  these  undoubt 
edly  tend  to  the  improvement  and  stimulation  of  pa 
triotic  sentiment.  But  there  is  good  reason  to  believe 
that  others  have  no  better  justification  than  the  in 
dulgence  of  local  pride  or  the  furtherance  of  narrow 
and  selfish  interests. 

We  join  to-day  in  "  the  celebration  of  the  two  hun 
dred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the 
Jews  in  the  United  States."  This  event  created  such 
an  important  epoch  in  our  country's  development,  and 
its  relationship  to  our  nation's  evolution  is  so  clearly 
seen  in  the  light  of  present  conditions,  that  every 
thoughtful  American  citizen  must  recognize  the  fit 
ness  and  usefulness  of  its  commemoration.  To  those 
of  the  Jewish  faith  it  recalls  a  foothold  gained,  that 
meant  for  them  a  home  and  peaceful  security,  after 
centuries  of  homelessness  and  ruthless  persecution. 
To  those  of  us  professing  a  different  religious  faith, 
it  brings  to  mind  the  landing  upon  our  soil  of  an 
element  of  population  whose  wonderful  increase  and 
marked  traits  of  character  have  added  a  powerful 
factor  to  our  national  progress  and  achievement.  All 
nationalities  have  contributed  to  the  composite  popu 
lation  of  the  United  States— many  of  them  in  greater 
[11] 


number  than  the  Jews.  And  yet  I  believe  that  it  can 
be  safely  claimed  that  few,  if  any,  of  those  contribut 
ing  nationalities  have  directly  and  indirectly  been 
more  influential  in  giving  shape  and  direction  to  the 
Americanism  of  to-day.  What  our  Jewish  fellow- 
citizens  have  done  to  increase  the  material  advance 
ment  of  the  United  States  is  apparent  on  every  hand 
and  must  stand  confessed.  But  the  best  and  highest 
Americanism  is  something  more  than  materialistic. 
Its  spirit,  which  should  make  it  imperishable  and  im 
mortal,  exists  in  its  patriotic  aspirations  and  exalting 
traditions.  On  this  higher  plain  of  our  nationality, 
and  in  the  atmosphere  of  ennobling  sentiment,  we  also 
feel  the  touch  of  Jewish  relationship.  If  the  dis 
covery  of  America  prophesied  the  coming  of  our  na 
tion  and  fixed  the  place  of  its  birth,  let  us  not  forget 
that  Columbus,  on  his  voyage  in  search  of  a  new  world, 
was  aided  in  a  most  important  way  by  Jewish  sup 
port  and  comradeship.  If  the  people  of  the  United 
States  glory  in  their  free  institutions  as  the  crown  of 
man's  aspiration  for  self-government,  let  them  not 
be  unmindful  of  the  fact  that  the  Jews  among  us 
have  in  their  care  and  keeping  the  history  and  tradi 
tions  of  an  ancient  Jewish  commonwealth  astonish 
ingly  like  our  own  Republic  in  its  democracy  and 
underlying  intention.  This  ancient  commonwealth 
was  ordained  of  God  for  the  government  of  His 
chosen  people;  and  we  should  not  close  our  minds  to 
a  conception  of  the  coincidence  in  divine  purpose  dis 
coverable  in  the  bestowal,  by  the  Ruler  of  the  uni 
verse,  of  a  similar  plan  of  rule,  after  thousands  of 
years,  upon  the  people  of  the  United  States,  who  also 
[18] 


had  their  beginning  in  willing  submission  to  God's 
sovereignty,  and  the  assertion  of  freedom  in  His  wor 
ship.  When  with  true  American  enthusiasm  and 
pride  we  recall  the  story  of  the  war  for  our  inde 
pendence,  and  rejoice  in  the  indomitable  courage  and 
fortitude  of  our  Revolutionary  heroes,  we  should  not 
fail  to  remember  how  well  the  Jews  of  America  per 
formed  their  part  in  the  struggle  and  how  in  every 
way  they  usefully  and  patriotically  supported  the  in 
terests  of  their  newly  found  home.  Nor  can  we  over 
look,  if  we  are  decently  just,  the  valuable  aid  cheer 
fully  contributed  by  our  Jewish  fellow-countrymen  in 
every  national  emergency  that  has  since  overtaken  us. 
They  gave  convincing  evidence  of  their  assimilation 
of  the  best  sentiment  of  American  patriotism  by 
heartily  joining  in  the  popular  acclaim  that  met  the 
selection  of  Washington  as  the  first  President  of  our 
new  Republic.  In  support  of  this  statement  it  cer 
tainly  cannot  be  amiss  to  quote  the  following  pas 
sages  from  a  letter  addressed  to  General  Washington 
after  his  election  to  the  presidency,  by  the  Hebrew 
congregation  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island: 

"  Deprived  as  we  hitherto  have  been  of  the  inalien 
able  rights  of  free  citizens,  we  now,  with  a  deep  sense 
of  gratitude  to  the  almighty  Disposer  of  all  events, 
behold  a  government  erected  by  the  majesty  of  the 
people,  a  government  which  to  bigotry  gives  no  sanc 
tion,  to  persecution  no  assistance,  but  generously  af 
fording  to  all  liberty  of  conscience  and  immunities  of 
citizenship,  deeming  every  one,  of  whatever  nation, 
tongue,  and  language,  equal  parts  of  the  great  gov 
ernment  machine. 

[13] 


"  This  so  ample  and  extensive  Federal  Union,  whose 
base  is  philanthropy,  mutual  confidence,  and  public 
virtue,  we  cannot  but  acknowledge  to  be  the  work  of 
the  great  God  who  rules  in  the  armies  of  the  heavens 
and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth,  doing  what 
ever  seemeth  to  Him  good." 

These  expressions,  besides  bearing  on  the  hearty 
participation  of  our  Jewish  fellow-citizens  in  the  pa 
triotic  sentiments  of  the  time,  illustrate  how  thor 
oughly  they  appreciated  the  new  opportunities  and 
the  new  security  offered  to  them  by  a  free,  just,  and 
popular  government. 

And  thus  it  happened  that  the  Jewish  immigrants 
who  were  driven  to  our  colonies  by  religious  persecu 
tion,  and  their  descendants,  have,  under  the  kindly 
influence  of  toleration  and  equality,  cooperated  in 
nation-building  with  those  of  different  religious 
faiths,  whose  ancestors,  or  they  themselves,  had  also 
sought,  amid  hard  and  inhospitable  surroundings, 
freedom  to  worship  God.  Jewish  patriotism,  which 
had  been  for  centuries  submerged  and  smothered  in 
homeless  wanderings  and  nationless  existence,  in  the 
more  cheerful  light  and  warmth  of  a  safe  abiding 
place,  sprang  up  and  flourished.  It  has  been  said: 
"  If  you  persecute,  you  make  slaves ;  only  by  declar 
ing  equal  rights  for  all  will  you  make  good  citizens." 
The  rule  that  equality  in  right  is  essential  to  good 
citizenship  has  never  been  better  supported  than  by 
the  result  of  according  equal  rights  to  the  Jews  who 
found  a  home  on  the  soil  of  the  United  States. 

I  do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  full  enjoyment 
by  the  Jews  of  religious  and  industrial  freedom  was 
[14] 


not  without  restraint  or  limitation  at  the  time  of  their 
first  arrival.  Nor  am  I  in  the  least  inclined  to  claim 
that  Jewish  characteristics  or  the  Jewish  religion  is, 
or  ever  had  been,  absolutely  preventive  of  bad  men 
and  bad  citizens.  It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that 
with  even  the  limited  equality  of  rights  at  first  ac 
corded  to  the  Jews  by  the  American  colonies,  their 
loyalty  and  effective  patriotism  when  needed  were  not 
wanting. 

We  have  to-day  only  to  look  about  us  to  discover 
that,  in  every  phase  of  present  American  enterprise 
and  effort,  the  Jews  of  the  United  States,  with  unre 
stricted  toleration  and  equality,  are  making  their  im 
press  more  and  more  deep  and  permanent  upon  our 
citizenship.  They  accumulate  wealth  without  exhib 
iting  or  encouraging  harmful  extravagance  and 
business  recklessness.  They  especially  care  for  their 
poor,  but  they  do  it  sensibly,  and  in  a  way  that  avoids 
pauper-making.  On  every  side  are  seen  monuments 
of  their  charitable  work,  and  evidences  of  their  deter 
mination  to  furnish  their  children  and  youth  equip 
ment  for  usefulness  and  self-support.  It  is  not  among 
them  that  dangerous  discontent  and  violent  demon 
strations  against  peace  and  order  are  hatched  and  fos 
tered.  There  may  be  something  of  separateness  in 
their  social  life  among  us,  but  this  should  be  naturally 
expected  among  those  who  are  not  altogether  free 
from  the  disposition  born  of  persecution  and  the  loss 
of  nationality,  to  seek  in  a  common  devotion  to  their 
peculiar  religious  creed  the  strongest  bond  of  their 
social  fellowships.  And  yet,  with  it  all,  they  are  by 
no  means  laggards  in  the  civic  duty  and  the  work  in 
[15] 


behalf  of  the  general  welfare  of  the  state,  which  are 
the  badges  of  good  citizenship. 

It  is  time  for  the  unreserved  acknowledgment  that 
the  toleration  and  equal  opportunity  accorded  to  the 
Jews  of  the  United  States  have  been  abundantly  re 
paid  to  us.  And  in  making  up  the  accounts,  let  us 
not  omit  to  put  to  their  credit  the  occasion  presented 
to  us  through  our  concession  to  them  of  toleration  and 
equality,  for  strengthening,  by  wholesome  exercise, 
the  spirit  of  broad-minded  justice  and  consideration, 
which,  as  long  as  we  are  true  to  ourselves,  we  must 
inflexibly  preserve  as  the  distinguishing  and  saving 
traits  of  our  nationality. 

I  know  that  human  prejudice — especially  that 
growing  out  of  race  or  religion — is  cruelly  inveterate 
and  lasting.  But  wherever  in  the  world  prejudice 
against  the  Jews  still  exists,  there  can  be  no  place  for 
it  among  the  people  of  the  United  States,  unless  they 
are  heedless  of  good  faith,  recreant  to  the  underlying 
principles  of  their  free  government,  and  insensible  to 
every  pledge  involved  in  our  boasted  equality  of  citi 
zenship. 

Roger  Williams,  the  pioneer  of  religious  liberty  in 
America,  expressed  the  fear,  long  before  the  United 
States  became  a  nation,  that  England  and  the  other 
nations  had  a  score  to  pay  to  the  Jews,  and  he  added 
these  words :  "  I  desire  not  the  liberty  to  myself 
which  I  would  not  freely  and  impartially  weigh  out 
to  all  the  consciences  of  the  world  beside."  Our  na 
tion  will  have  no  score  to  pay  to  the  Jews.  As  a  peo 
ple  we  shall  never  suffer  the  humiliation  of  appealing 
to  them  for  favors  with  the  shamefaccdness  of  intol- 
[16] 


erance  un  for  gotten  and  un  for  given.  The  Jews  of  the 
United  States  have  become  our  fellow-citizens,  and, 
like  us,  have  at  heart  the  prosperity  and  safety  of 
our  common  country — forasmuch  as  we  have  desired 
not  that  liberty  to  ourselves  which  we  would  not  freely 
and  impartially  weigh  out  to  all  the  consciences  of 
the  world  beside. 

After  all  it  comes  to  this:  We  celebrate  an  event 
in  the  history  of  our  country  fraught  with  important 
results,  and  deeply  concerning  us  all  as  citizens  of  the 
United  States.  In  the  spirit  of  true  Americanism  let 
us  all  rejoice  in  the  good  which  the  settlement  we 
commemorate  has  brought  to  the  nation  in  which  we 
all  find  safety  and  protection ;  and,  uninterrupted  by 
differences  in  religious  faith,  let  us,  under  the  guid 
ance  of  the  genius  of  Toleration  and  Equality,  here 
consecrate  ourselves  more  fully  than  ever  to  united 
and  devoted  labor  in  the  field  of  our  common  nation's 
advancement  and  exaltation. 


[17] 


LETTER  FROM  PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT 

WASHINGTON,  November  16,  1905. 

MY  DEAR  SIR  :  I  am  forced  to  make  a  rule  not  to 
write  letters  on  the  occasion  of  any  celebration,  no 
matter  how  important,  simply  because  I  cannot  write 
one  without  either  committing  myself  to  write  hun 
dreds  of  others  or  else  running  the  risk  of  giving 
offense  to  worthy  persons.  I  make  an  exception  in 
this  case  because  the  lamentable  and  terrible  suffering 
to  which  so  many  of  the  Jewish  people  in  other  lands 
have  been  subjected,  makes  me  feel  it  my  duty,  as  the 
head  of  the  American  people,  not  only  to  express  my 
deep  sympathy  for  them,  as  I  now  do,  but  at  the  same 
time  to  point  out  what  fine  qualities  of  citizenship  have 
been  displayed  by  the  men  of  Jewish  faith  and  race, 
who,  having  come  to  this  country,  enjoy  the  benefits 
of  free  institutions  and  equal  treatment  before  the 
law.  I  feel  very  strongly  that  if  any  people  are  op 
pressed  anywhere,  the  wrong  inevitably  reacts  in  the 
end  on  those  who  oppress  them ;  for  it  is  an  immutable 
law  in  the  spiritual  world  that  no  one  can  wrong 
others  and  yet  in  the  end  himself  escape  unhurt. 

The  celebration  of  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  an 
niversary  of  the  settlement  of  the  Jews  in  the  United 
States  properly  emphasizes  a  series  of  historical  facts 
of  more  than  merely  national  significance.  Even  in 
our  colonial  period  the  Jews  participated  in  the  up 
building  of  this  country,  acquired  citizenship,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  development  of  foreign  and 
domestic  commerce.  During  the  Revolutionary  pe 
riod  they  aided  the  cause  of  liberty  by  serving  in  the 
[18] 


Continental  army,  and  by  substantial  contributions 
to  the  empty  treasury  of  the  infant  Republic.  Dur 
ing  the  Civil  War,  thousands  served  in  the  armies 
and  mingled  their  blood  with  the  soil  for  which  they 
fought.  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  say,  in  addressing 
you  on  this  occasion,  that  while  the  Jews  of  the  United 
States,  who  now  number  more  than  a  million,  have  re 
mained  loyal  to  their  faith  and  their  race  traditions, 
they  have  become  indissolubly  incorporated  in  the 
great  army  of  American  citizenship,  prepared  to  make 
all  sacrifice  for  the  country,  either  in  war  or  peace, 
and  striving  for  the  perpetuation  of  good  government 
and  for  the  maintenance  of  the  principles  embodied 
in  our  Constitution.  They  are  honorably  distin 
guished  by  their  industry,  their  obedience  to  law,  and 
their  devotion  to  the  national  welfare.  They  are  en 
gaged  in  generous  rivalry  with  their  fellow-citizens 
of  other  denominations  in  advancing  the  interests  of 
our  common  country.  This  is  true  not  only  of  the 
descendants  of  the  early  settlers  and  those  of  Ameri 
can  birth,  but  of  a  great  and  constantly  increasing 
proportion  of  those  who  have  come  to  our  shores  within 
the  last  twenty-five  years  as  refugees  reduced  to  the 
direst  straits  of  penury  and  misery.  All  Americans 
may  well  be  proud  of  the  extraordinary  illustration 
of  the  wisdom  and  strength  of  our  governmental  sys 
tem  thus  afforded.  In  a  few  years,  men  and  women 
hitherto  utterly  unaccustomed  to  any  of  the  privileges 
of  citizenship  have  moved  mightily  upward  toward 
the  standard  of  loyal,  self-respecting  American  citi 
zenship;  of  that  citizenship  which  not  merely  insists 
upon  its  rights,  but  also  eagerly  recognizes  its  duty 
[19] 


to  do  its  full  share  in  the  material,  social,  and  moral 
Advancement  of  the  nation. 

With  all  good  wishes,  believe  me, 

Sincerely  yours, 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT. 

JACOB  H.  SCHIFF,  ESQ.,  Chairman. 


[20] 


TELEGRAM  FROM  VICE-PRESIDENT 
FAIRBANKS 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  November  30,  1905. 

HON.   JACOB   H.   SCHIFF,   965   Fifth   Avenue,   New 
York  : 

MY  DEAR  MR.  SCHIFF:  I  greatly  regret  my  in 
ability  to  participate  with  you  to-day  in  celebrating 
the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  Jews 
in  America.  The  event  is  one  which  we  may  all  take 
pleasure  in  observing  with  appropriate  ceremony,  for 
the  Jewish  people  have  contributed  and  are  contribut 
ing  their  full  measure  to  our  national  growth  and 
strength.  They  are  enamored  of  our  institutions  and 
are  a  part  of  that  loyal,  intelligent,  conservative  citi 
zenship  which  constitutes  the  stay  and  support  of  the 
great  Republic.  Our  hearts  are  filled  with  gratitude 
in  this  hour  of  national  thanksgiving  that  Jew  and 
Gentile  enjoy  absolute  political  equality,  and  dwell 
together  in  amity  and  good  fellowship  throughout  the 
limits  of  the  United  States.  Here  they  entertain  for 
each  other  a  high  degree  of  respect  and  good  will, 
and  rejoice  in  their  common  national  inheritance. 
They  are  alike  profoundly  touched  by  the  atrocities 
inflicted  upon  the  Jews  in  Russia.  They  are  moved 
by  a  common  fraternal  impulse  to  make  their  protest 
against  this  master  crime  of  modern  times,  and  send 
their  aid  and  sympathy  to  those  in  sore  distress.  I 
entertain  the  confident  hope  that  the  Jews  in  America 
may  continue  to  enjoy  the  fullest  possible  measure  of 


prosperity  and  happiness,  and  that  freedom  in  our 
common  country  may  forever  continue  to  bless  both 
Jew  and  Gentile. 

Very  respectfully  yours, 

CHARLES  W.  FAIRBANKS. 


[22] 


ADDRESS  BY  GOVERNOR  HIGGINS 

It  affords  me  great  pleasure  to  be  present  to-day, 
to  congratulate  you  upon  this  significant  celebration 
and  to  testify  to  my  appreciation  of  the  services  ren 
dered  to  civilization  by  the  American  Jew.  Birth 
days  and  anniversaries  are  worth  keeping  only  as 
they  mark  growth  and  progress.  Mere  growing  old 
in  men  and  nations  brings  but  the  pathetic  recollec 
tion  of  departed  glories.  Our  Jewish  fellow-citizens 
have  a  right  to  boast  that  under  the  protecting  shield 
of  equal  rights  they  have  taken  no  steps  backward  in 
the  long  and  weary  years  that  have  rolled  by  since 
they  first  obtained  from  the  Dutch  West  India  Com 
pany  "  permission  to  sail  and  to  trade  in  New  Neth 
erlands,  and  to  live  and  remain  there."  Since  that 
noteworthy  grant  of  privilege,  the  Jews  have  fled 
from  edicts  of  exclusion,  from  despotism  and  perse 
cution,  from  poverty,  misery,  and  social  degradation, 
to  the  shores  of  America  and  found  here  a  refuge 
where  the  rights  of  man  are  determined  not  by  his 
race  or  religion,  but  by  his  honesty,  industry,  and 
character.  Spaniard  and  Portuguese,  Pole  and  Rus 
sian,  English  and  German,  have  come  to  obtain  the 
blessings  of  freedom  and  to  give  in  return  a  loyal 
support  to  our  institutions  and  strength  to  their  new 
country.  In  this  free  atmosphere,  all  that  a  man  can 
fairly  ask  or  receive  is  a  man's  chance  in  the  struggle 
for  existence.  The  man  who  can  toil,  who  can  make 
present  sacrifices  for  future  gain,  who  can  practice 
thrift  until  he  can  afford  to  be  liberal,  who  can  eman 
cipate  himself  from  "  those  twin  jailers  of  the  human 
[23] 


race,  low  birth  and  iron  fortune,"  will  leave  behind 
in  the  race  for  success  the  lover  of  ease  and  pleasure, 
the  man  with  his  eye  on  the  clock,  the  spendthrift 
and  the  sport. 

To  be  poor,  wretched,  and  miserable  is  to  our  civi 
lization  either  a  misfortune  or  a  disgrace,  not,  as  in 
lands  of  privilege  and  class  distinction,  a  necessary 
evil.  As  every  soldier  in  Napoleon's  army  carried  a 
marshal's  baton  in  his  knapsack,  so  in  America  every 
self-respecting  citizen  aspires  to  financial  independ 
ence  and  political  and  social  honors. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Jews,  with  their 
marvelous  history  of  intellectual  achievement,  with 
their  natural  moral  strength,  with  their  philanthropic 
and  charitable  impulses,  have  flourished  and  waxed 
great  in  this  quarter  millennium  of  abundant  opportu 
nity. 

We  cherish  a  just  and  proper  pride  of  ancestry. 
The  New  England  Society,  the  Holland  Society,  and 
other  associations  formed  to  honor  the  pioneer  fathers, 
serve  a  useful  purpose.  Our  religious  denominations 
teach  in  many  ways  the  lesson  of  serving  God.  But 
in  America  we  have  no  place  for  him  who  is  prouder 
of  his  foreign  descent  than  of  his  own  Americanism, 
nor  for  him  to  whom  religion  means  intolerance  and 
self-satisfied  isolation  from  his  fellow-men  of  differ 
ing  faith.  Loyal  as  we  may  be  to  fatherland  and 
mother  church,  we  owe  our  first  and  firmest  allegiance 
to  the  flag  which  is  the  symbol  of  our  great  and  com 
mon  country.  This  nation  cannot  long  endure  if  our 
citizens  consider  only  their  opportunities,  and  forget 
their  obligations  to  the  state  and  their  fellow-men. 
[84] 


In  these  days  of  greed  and  the  lust  of  gain,  when  man 
too  often  struggles  to  heap  up  riches  with  little  heed 
to  the  restraints  of  moral  or  civil  law,  when  success 
seems  to  justify  the  means,  when  respect  for  the 
rights  of  others  and  regard  for  the  feelings  of  others 
give  place  to  a  sordid  selfishness,  we  must  not  forget 
that  a  nation  can  be  great  and  noble  only  as  its  people 
are  a  great  and  noble  people,  and  that  the  character 
of  a  nation  is  determined  by  the  characters  of  those 
it  honors. 

The  Jew  has  cheerfully  accepted  the  moral  obliga 
tion  imposed  on  all  who  seek  the  benefit  of  American 
citizenship.  Not  only  in  financial  circles,  but  also  in 
military  and  civil  life,  in  science,  art,  literature,  and 
the  learned  professions  he  has  served  his  adopted 
country  with  fidelity  and  zeal. 

Proud  of  his  descent  from  Moses  and  the  prophets 
and  the  lawgivers  of  old,  he  has  an  equal  pride  in  his 
American  citizenship.  As  his  ancestral  religion  teaches 
him  the  obligations  of  the  ancient  domestic  virtues, 
so  his  citizenship  teaches  him  the  duties  of  service 
to  the  state  and  to  his  fellow-men.  We  may  safely 
place  on  his  shoulders  the  responsibility  for  handing 
down  unimpaired,  to  his  children  and  his  children's 
children,  the  priceless  heritage  of  American  liberty. 


[25] 


ADDRESS  BY  MAYOR  McCLELLAN 

MR.  CHAIRMAN,  LADIES,  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  If  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers,  whose  advent  we  commemorate,  were 
to  return  to  us,  they  would  not  be  surprised  at  the 
wonderful  progress  made  and  the  position  attained  by 
their  children,  but  they  would  be  astounded  at  the 
marvelous  increase  in  the  numbers  of  their  coreligion 
ists  in  the  United  States,  and  especially  in  the  city 
of  New  York. 

It  is  fitting  that,  as  the  mayor  of  the  largest  single 
municipality  on  earth,  and  especially  as  the  chief 
magistrate  of  the  largest  single  Jewish  community 
that  the  world  has  ever  seen,  I  should  be  with  you 
to-day  to  express  to  you  on  behalf  not  only  of  my 
seven  hundred  thousand  Jewish  fellow-citizens,  but 
on  behalf  of  my  four  millions  of  fellow-citizens  of  all 
races  and  creeds,  their  sincere  congratulations  and 
good  wishes,  their  satisfaction  for  what  you  have 
accomplished  in  the  past  and  are  accomplishing  in 
the  present,  and  their  hope  for  what,  side  by  side  in 
unity  with  other  races  and  creeds,  you  will  accomplish 
for  the  United  States  in  the  future. 

There  are  those  who  sincerely  fear  that  if  the  enor 
mous  immigration  of  non-English-speaking  peoples  is 
permitted  to  continue,  it  will  menace  the  very  institu 
tions  of  our  country.  I  do  not  share  that  fear.  The 
United  States  needs  a  vastly  greater  population  for 
its  development,  and  can  easily  support  half  a  bil 
lion  people  properly  distributed. 

We  members  of  the  Caucasian  family  are  very  much 
like  one  another,  without  regard  to  what  branch  of 
[26] 


that  family  we  may  belong.  Deny  a  man  the  ordi 
nary  human  rights  of  life,  liberty,  and  happiness, 
forbid  him  to  worship  God  in  his  own  way,  deprive 
him  of  the  possibility  of  an  education,  harry  him, 
worry  him,  oppress  him,  persecute  him,  and  it  is  small 
wonder  if  the  brute  in  him  dominates  the  man.  Can 
you  blame  him  if,  upon  his  first  taste  of  freedom,  he 
confounds  license  with  liberty?  Can  we  blame  him  if, 
upon  his  first  glimpse  of  freedom,  he  is  inclined  to 
follow  the  teachings  of  the  first  demagogue  who 
preaches  anarchy,  and  who  promises  Utopia  at  the 
expense  of  existing  law  and  order?  Hunger  and  ig 
norance  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 

But  give  that  man  the  right  to  work  out  his  salva 
tion  in  his  own  way,  to  worship  God  as  he  pleases; 
protect  him  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  rights  as  a  man; 
give  him  the  rudiments  of  an  education,  give  him  the 
possibility  of  earning  a  man's  wage  for  a  man's  work ; 
and  whether  he  comes  from  the  mountains  of  Galicia, 
the  steppes  of  Russia,  or  the  purlieus  of  Whitechapel, 
you  will  find  that  the  good  red  blood  in  him  pulsates 
in  the  heart  of  a  man  made  in  God's  image. 

Every  man  who  comes  to  this  country,  groping, 
however  blindly,  for  the  light  of  freedom,  struggling, 
however  impotently,  for  the  betterment  of  his  condi 
tion  and  the  uplifting  of  his  soul,  has  in  him  the 
making  of  a  good  citizen  of  our  country,  if  we  only 
do  our  duty  by  him. 

There  are  two  duties  which  we  owe  the  incoming 

immigrant,    One  is  a  duty  which  cannot  be  performed 

by   government  without   socialism,  and  that  has   no 

place  in  American  institutions :   It  is  the  duty  of  try- 

[27] 


ing  to  prevent  congestion  in  the  labor  market,  or 
trying  to  distribute  the  incoming  immigrants  where 
they  are  needed,  and  not  permitting  them  to  remain 
where  the  labor  market  is  glutted.  This  is  a  duty 
which  should  be  undertaken  by  every  citizen  of  this 
country,  for  it  appeals  to  every  one  of  us. 

The  other  duty  is  one  which  government  must  un 
dertake,  and  which  the  government,  with  the  support 
of  the  people,  has  cheerfully  undertaken:  it  is  the 
duty  of  education.  Something  can  be  done  with  the 
older  immigrants  by  education ;  everything  can  be 
done  with  the  young  generation,  with  the  children. 
They  must  be  taught  to  read  and  write,  and,  what  is 
more  important,  to  think  in  English ;  and  if  we  do 
that,  we  break  down  the  barriers  of  nationality,  and 
we  teach  them  to  think  in  the  language  of  our  com 
mon  country. 

Mr.  Chairman,  a  great  cloud  has  settled  over  your 
race.  The  whole  civilized  world  has  been  horrified 
by  the  atrocities  of  the  last  few  months  in  Russia. 
Your  happiness  in  this  celebration  has  been  turned 
to  sorrow,  your  joy  to  sadness;  but  in  your  grief  you 
have  had  the  heartfelt  sympathy  of  all  the  people  of 
this  country ;  your  grief  has  been  shared  by  us,  your 
sorrow  has  become  our  own,  and  in  the  dark  night  of 
Russia  there  is  just  this  one  ray  of  light.  Your  co 
religionists  who  come  to  us,  driven  from  their  homes 
by  the  sword  of  the  oppressor,  those  who  come  to  us 
— as  many  are  bound  to  do — will  come  to  a  land  ready 
to  give  them  welcome,  ready  to  extend  to  them  the 
sympathy  of  man  to  his  fellow  in  distress.  They  will 
come  to  us  predisposed  to  assimilate  with  us;  they 
[28] 


will  come  to  us  ready  to  be  absorbed  into  our  body  poli 
tic.  If  the  sharing  of  your  grief  by  all  the  eighty 
millions  of  Americans,  if  the  sympathy  and  the  hu 
man  kindness  that  grief  has  called  forth,  serve  to  bind 
more  closely  together  the  heterogeneous  elements  of 
this  nation  into  one  homogeneous  whole,  serve  to  has 
ten  the  accomplishment  of  our  destiny  in  the  creation 
of  an  American  race,  destined  to  lead  the  world  in 
righteousness,  in  justice,  and  in  honor,  then  those  who 
received  the  martyr's  crown  in  Russia  will  not  have 
died  in  vain. 


[29] 


ORATION  BY  JUDGE  MAYER  SULZBERGER 

But  a  few  brief  months  have  flown  since  we  planned 
this  great  day  of  memorial  and  rejoicing,  and  lo! 
such  are  the  mutations  of  time,  our  festival  is  turned 
into  mourning.  The  placid  note  of  satisfaction  is 
drowned  in  the  shrill  whistle  of  the  assassins'  bullets 
and  the  frenzied  shrieks  of  countless  victims.  But 
though  crime  and  death  stalk  abroad  in  the  world,  the 
business  of  life  must  go  on.  Within  the  broad  reaches 
of  eternity  there  is  time  for  all  things.  There  is,  says 
the  wise  king,  "  A  time  to  weep,  and  a  time  to  laugh ; 
a  time  to  mourn,  and  a  time  to  dance ;  a  time  to  keep 
silence,  and  a  time  to  speak;  a  time  of  war,  and  a 
time  of  peace." 

Confronted  with  the  appalling  Russian  tragedy, 
we  have  refrained  from  speech  and  have  striven  and 
now  strive  with  might  and  main  to  relieve  suffering. 
But  the  week  of  first  mourning  is  past,  the  dead  are 
buried,  and  in  the  more  sedate  manner  of  the  Shloshim 
or  secondary  mourning  of  the  month,  we  must,  with 
such  composure  as  we  may,  celebrate  our  memorial  day. 

In  lieu  of  mirth  and  gayety,  we  consecrate  the  day 
to  lofty  and  holy  purpose.  Let  us  here  highly  re 
solve  that  by  speech,  by  writing,  by  act  and  deed  we 
shall  so  work  that  the  cause  of  human  liberty  and 
human  rights  shall  be  advanced  all  the  world  over, 
and  that  we  shall  not  rest  until  the  great  empire  of 
Russia  shall  be  free  and  ennobled,  in  that  day  when 
Jews  and  Catholics  and  Protestants  and  all  men  shall 
enjoy  equal  rights  before  the  law,  and  that  law  one 
of  justice  and  of  right. 

[30] 


Just  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  the  Jewish 
pilgrim  fathers  landed  on  Manhattan's  shores.  Like 
those  other  pilgrim  fathers  who  founded  Plymouth, 
they  fled  from  religious  persecution,  the  former  from 
the  English,  the  latter  from  the  Portuguese.  Both 
sought  refuge  with  the  Dutch.  In  Holland,  the  little 
country  built  up  by  the  mud  and  silt  which  the  Rhine 
brought  down  from  the  German  highlands,  the  re 
ligious  liberty  of  the  modern  world  was  born.  Amid 
griefs  and  throes  inexpressible  the  harried  victims 
of  Spanish  bigotry  and  cruelty  declared  by  "  the 
Union  of  Utrecht,"  in  the  fateful  year  1579,  that 
every  individual  should  remain  free  in  his  religion, 
and  that  no  man  should  be  molested  or  questioned  on 
the  subject  of  divine  worship;  words,  these,  which 
have  become  commonplaces  of  civilization,  but  which 
at  their  declaration  fell  meaningless  on  the  ears  of 
a  deaf  world.  Catholics  were  being  persecuted  in 
Great  Britain,  Huguenots  in  France,  Lutherans  in 
Germany,  and  Jews  looked  upon  sufferance  as  natural. 
England,  France,  Spain,  and  Portugal  excluded 
them.  Bigotry  and  cruelty  were  the  public  law  of 
the  times. 

The  mighty  line  of  Marlowe,  and  the  myriad  mind 
of  Shakespeare  but  reflected  the  intolerance  which 
obsessed  the  European  world. 

In  high  relief  against  this  dark  background  stands 
out  the  august  figure  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  Will 
iam  the  Silent,  that  one  prototype  among  the  world's 
rulers  of  our  own  Washington  and  Lincoln.  He  alone, 
to  use  the  language  of  Motley,  seems  to  have  risen 
to  the  height  of  thoroughly  comprehending  the  mean- 
[31] 


ing  of  religious  freedom.  Principal  director  of  the 
movement  which  was  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
Netherland  Republic,  his  familiar  title  of  "  Father 
William  "  is  true  in  the  double  sense  that  he  was  as 
well  the  father  of  his  country  as  of  religious  liberty 
in  the  Western  world. 

Upon  this  star  rising  in  the  North,  the  Portuguese 
maranos  fixed  their  longing  eyes.  For  a  hundred 
years  they  had  been  oppressed,  impoverished,  impris 
oned,  burned,  expelled  for  their  constancy  to  the  re 
ligion  of  their  forefathers.  With  the  outward  seem 
ing  of  Catholics  they  cherished  an  intense  attachment 
to  Judaism,  risking  in  its  cause  even  life  itself.  They 
showed  the  spectacle  of  a  church  whose  members 
cherished  for  their  country  and  their  God  a  love  so 
fervent  and  so  equal  that  they  could  not  abandon  one 
for  the  other,  but  bore  the  pangs  of  martyrdom  in 
the  pathetic  endeavor  to  hold  fast  to  both.  But  even 
this  position,  sad  as  it  was,  became  worse  when  Portu 
gal,  in  1580,  came  under  the  domination  of  Philip  of 
Spain,  who  but  four  years  later  was  to  inspire  the 
assassination  of  William  the  Silent  and  to  earn  for 
himself  a  heritage  of  perpetual  infamy.  He  issued 
new  orders  against  the  maranos,  and  having  rendered 
it  impracticable  for  them  to  live  in  peace  at  home, 
refined  his  cruelty  by  forbidding  them  to  emigrate 
abroad.  The  desire  to  leave  his  dominions  became  an 
overmastering  passion,  and  in  the  year  1593  the  first 
colony  reached  Amsterdam.  The  Netherlands  were 
engaged  in  a  fight  for  life  with  Philip  of  Spain.  Na 
tional  patriotism,  love  for  the  Reformed  religion,  and 
dread  of  the  Inquisition  powerfully  united  to  inspire 
[88] 


them  with  suspicion,  fear,  and  hatred  of  Philip's 
Spanish  subjects.  The  poor  maranos,  externally  in 
distinguishable  from  Spanish  Catholics,  had  to  walk 
warily  for  safety.  Thanks  to  the  new  light,  their 
first  serious  adventure  savored  more  of  comedy  than 
of  the  tragedy  which  had  so  long  relentlessly  pur 
sued  them.  One  of  their  early  Yom  Kippur  gather 
ings  was  suspected  to  be  a  conventicle  of  Crypto- 
Catholics,  pseudo-Inquisitors,  or  what  not,  and  the 
poor  maranos  brought  before  the  tribunal  experi 
enced  the  delicious  novelty  of  finding  their  avowal  of 
Judaism  to  be  a  shield  and  buckler. 

There  was  another  happening  in  Amsterdam,  in 
the  year  1593,  concerning  which  no  looker-on  could 
have  foretold  how  big  with  future  events  it  was.  The 
Jews  had  entered  the  city  in  the  month  of  April  of 
that  year.  On  the  sixth  day  of  that  same  month  Bar 
low  and  Greenwood,  early  Puritan  leaders,  were 
hanged  in  London,  and  their  congregation  impris 
oned.  The  little  church  emigrated,  and  before  the 
close  of  the  year  the  fugitives  arrived  at  Amsterdam. 
In  1620  there  went  forth  from  this  tiny  beginning 
the  Puritan  company  that  was  by  way  of  England 
to  lay  firm  the  foundations  of  New  England  on  the 
rock  of  Plymouth. 

It  was  no  mere  coincidence  that  "  The  Jew  of 
Malta  "  was  written  in  1590  and  "  The  Merchant  of 
Venice  "  in  1594.  Religious  hatred  and  the  correla 
tive  contempt  for  religious  freedom  spoke  also  in 
plain  prose.  Bishop  Hall,  one  of  the  most  liberal  prel 
ates  of  the  next  age,  contemned  Amsterdam  as  "  a 
common  harbor  of  all  opinions,  of  all  heresies,"  "  an 
[33] 


odious  composition  of  Judaism,  Arianism,  Anabap- 
tism." 

The  offense  for  which  these  brave  Puritans  suf 
fered  was  called  "  sedition,"  and  it  consisted  in  this, 
that  they  held  it  to  be  the  duty  of  all  true  Christians 
to  separate  themselves  from  the  official  church  and 
to  form  congregations  apart,  and  that  they  advo 
cated  complete  religious  liberty,  denying  the  right  of 
the  state  to  interfere  with  the  conscience. 

Jews  and  Puritans  thus  settled  in  Holland  looked 
back  with  longing  to  their  kindred  left  behind  in  in 
hospitable  homes.  The  Puritans  negotiated  for  a 
settlement  under  the  Dutch  on  the  Hudson,  and  the 
Jews  sent  a  colony  of  six  hundred  to  Brazil  in  1642. 
The  Puritans  abandoned  their  new  Netherland  scheme 
and  thereby  founded  New  England,  while  the  Bra- 
zilian  Jewish  colony,  broken  up  by  the  Portuguese 
conquest  of  that  country,  led  to  the  first  Jewish 
settlement  in  the  United  States  on  this  island, 
which  has  become  the  metropolis  of  the  great 
nation. 

In  September,  1654,  twenty-three  Brazilian  fugi 
tives  arrived  at  New  Amsterdam  on  the  good  ship 
Saint  Catarina.  The  South  American  refuge  had 
lasted  only  twelve  years,  and  now  again  they  were 
fleeing  from  Portuguese  intolerance  to  Dutch  free 
dom.  The  place  to  which  they  came  was  not  what  it 
is  now.  In  1653,  what  we  call  the  State  of  New  York, 
had  but  two  thousand  white  inhabitants — was,  let  us 
say,  about  equal  to  our  Jewish  colony  at  Woodbine, 
whereas  the  population  of  the  present  city  of  New 
York  was  but  eight  hundred.  The  currency  in  vogue 
[34] 


was  wampum,  beads  made  from  shells,  valued  accord 
ing  to  color. 

The  governor  of  this  little  country  was  a  strong- 
headed,  brave,  but  irascible  Dutch  soldier.     He  had 
served  in  the  West  Indies,  had  been  Governor  of  Cu- 
rasao,  and  had  all  the  love  of  power  which  its  abso 
lute  exercise,  free  from  the  supervision  of  superiors, 
engenders.    When  he  arrived  here  in  1647,  at  the  age 
of  forty-five,  Stuyvesant  marched  with  great  pomp 
from  the  vessel  to  the  port,  notwithstanding  or  per 
haps  because  of  his   wooden  leg  bound  with  silver 
bands.     He  soon  asserted  vice-regal  authority,  and 
gave  every  one  to  understand  that  an  appeal  from 
any  decision  of  his  would  be  punished  by  the  appel 
lant's  death.    In  other  respects  he  was  a  vigorous  and 
efficient    ruler,    and   his    consciousness    of    this    only 
heightened  the  asperity  of  his  disposition  when  his 
subjects  in  1653  demanded  and  obtained  a  consider 
able  measure  of  political  freedom.     Besides  internal 
troubles,  he  had  difficulties  to  settle  with  the  natives, 
with  the  English  on  the  east,  with  the  Swedes  on 
the  Delaware.    Worst  of  all,  he  felt  himself  as  a  kind 
of  pope,  responsible  for  the  proper  religious  attitude 
of  his  community,  which  he  held  to  be  possible  only 
by  strict  conformity  to  the  tenets  and  practices  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church.     On  this  principle  he  con 
scientiously    persecuted    Lutherans,    Baptists,     and 
Quakers,  until  the  remonstrances  of  the  people,  sup 
ported  by  the  company,  compelled  him  to  desist. 

The  arrival  of  a  ship  from  a  Latin  country,  with 
a  group  of  strangers  dark  of  complexion,  associated 
in  the  mind  with  Catholicism,  not  even  Christians, 
[35] 


certainly  not  Dutch  Reformed  Christians,  affected  the 
mind  of  Stuyvesant  unpleasantly.  He  ordered  them 
to  leave  the  colony,  which  for  a  man  of  his  type  meant 
simply  that  he  was  against  letting  them  settle  in  New 
Netherlands. 

At  this  day  such  notions  appall  us.  In  order,  how 
ever,  to  do  justice  to  the  men  of  the  past,  we  must 
consider  the  atmosphere  in  which  they  lived.  The 
most  ghastly  atrocities  for  religion's  sake  were  then 
fresh  and  familiar.  Chmielnitzki,  with  his  Cossacks, 
had  just  perpetrated  his  horrid  cruelties  against  Po 
land,  in  the  course  of  which  more  than  three  hundred 
thousand  Jews  had  been  ruthlessly  massacred.  The 
dreadful  Thirty  Years'  War  had  but  now  ended  in  the 
Peace  of  Westphalia — a  war  of  religious  antipathies 
between  Christian  and  Christian,  in  which  millions  of 
human  beings  perished  by  the  sword  and  by  hunger, 
and  in  which  all  Germany  had  lost  half  its  population 
and  two-thirds  of  its  movable  property. 

The  new  age  was  just  dawning.  At  last  Germany 
had  learned  that  opposing  religious  parties  must  tol 
erate  each  other.  Dormido,  ruined  by  the  Dutch  loss 
of  Brazil,  was  petitioning  Cromwell  for  the  free  ad 
mission  of  the  Jews  into  England;  and  in  our  own 
land  the  Providence  Plantations,  under  the  charter 
obtained  by  Roger  Williams,  were  laying  broad  and 
deep  the  foundations  of  religious  liberty. 

It  was  not  in  the  character  of  Stuyvesant  to  dis 
cern  or  to  welcome  the  impending  changes,  and  though 
more  liberality  could  fairly  be  expected  of  a  Dutch 
man  than  of  another,  we  must  not  judge  the  provin 
cial  governor's  intolerance  too  severely.  Even  at 
[36] 


home  in  Holland  the  doctrines  of  William  the  Silent 
had  not  been  fully  realized  in  practice.  There  had 
been  bitter  conflicts  on  obscure  points  of  theology — 
conflicts  in  which  good  men  perished.  Doctrines  are 
a  kind  of  organism.  In  their  beginnings  they  do  but 
express  potentialities.  Time  is  needed  to  bring  them 
to  their  full  growth.  The  cardinal  principle  that 
the  conscience  is  free,  had  to  be  learned  slowly.  The 
narrowness  of  Stuyvesant  was  controlled  by  the  lib 
erality  of  the  governing  company.  In  the  words  of 
Bancroft :  "  If  Stuyvesant  sometimes  displayed  the 
rash  despotism  of  a  soldier,  he  was  sure  to  be  reproved 
by  his  employers.  Did  he  change  the  rate  of  duties 
arbitrarily,  the  directors,  sensitive  to  commercial 
honor,  charged  him  to  keep  every  contract  inviolate. 
Did  he  tamper  with  the  currency  by  raising  the  nomi 
nal  value  of  foreign  coin,  the  measure  was  rebuked 
as  dishonest.  Did  he  attempt  to  fix  the  price  of  labor 
by  arbitrary  rules,  this  also  was  condemned  as  unwise 
and  impracticable.  Did  he  interfere  with  the  mer 
chants  by  inspecting  their  accounts,  the  deed  was 
censured  as  without  precedent  '  in  Christendom ' ; 
and  he  was  ordered  to  *  treat  the  merchants  with  kind 
ness,  lest  they  return  and  the  country  be  depopu 
lated.'  Did  his  zeal  for  Calvinism  lead  him  to  per 
secute  Lutherans,  he  was  chided  for  his  bigotry.  Did 
his  hatred  of  '  the  abominable  sect  of  Quakers  '  im 
prison  and  afterwards  exile  the  blameless  Bowne,  '  let 
every  peaceful  citizen,'  wrote  the  directors,  '  enjoy 
freedom  of  conscience.  This  maxim  has  made  our 
city  the  asylum  for  fugitives  from  every  land.  Tread 
in  its  steps  and  you  shall  be  blessed.'  ' 
[37] 


And  we  may  add  that  when  Stuyvesant  was  minded 
to  exclude  the  Jewish  immigrants,  he  was  instructed 
that  his  course  "  would  be  unreasonable  and  unfair," 
and  that  "  they  shall  have  permission  to  sail  to  and 
trade  in  New  Netherlands  and  to  live  and  remain 
there,  provided  the  poor  among  them  shall  not  be 
come  a  burden  to  the  company  or  the  community,  but 
be  supported  by  their  own  nation."  And  again  he 
received  directions  in  favor  of  Jewish  settlers,  es 
pecially  providing  that  they  should  enjoy  all  the  civil 
and  political  rights  in  New  Netherlands  which  were 
accorded  them  in  Amsterdam. 

The  liberal  sentiments  of  the  company  were  due 
not  so  much  to  the  capital  which  the  Jews  of  Am 
sterdam  had  invested  in  its  shares,  or  to  the  fact,  if 
fact  it  be,  that  they  were  represented  in  the  direc 
torate,  as  to  the  broadening  influence  of  world  com 
merce  in  itself.  The  continual  communication  and 
contact,  for  one  specific  purpose,  of  peoples  of  differ 
ent  countries,  races,  religions,  and  politics,  tend  to  fix 
the  attention  on  the  object  to  be  attained;  and  when 
it  is  perceived  that  the  natural  qualities  of  men  are 
surprisingly  similar,  the  sense  of  aloofness  which  sur 
vives  in  men  from  the  feelings  of  their  early  prehis 
toric  ancestors  is  sensibly  lessened.  Whatever  may 
be  said  of  the  moral  standards  of  commercialism,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  of  the  high  moral  value  of  commerce. 
To  it  more  than  to  any  other  single  agency  may  be 
attributed  the  wide  diffusion  of  more  active  senti 
ments  of  fellowship  between  the  inhabitants  of  differ 
ent  countries. 

At  the  period  of  the  Jewish  settlement  of  New 
[38] 


Netherlands  the  latter  was  a  Dutch  wedge  driven  in 
between  the  English  colonies  of  the  North  and  those 
of  the  South.  That  the  Jews  who  landed  here 
doubted  the  hospitality  of  the  English  colonies  is 
highly  probable,  and  hence  it  was  no  mere  accident 
that  Jews  settled  in  Newport  in  1655.  In  their  New 
Amsterdam  home  they  must  soon  have  learned  that 
one  of  the  English  colonies  stood  for  the  principle 
of  religious  freedom  with  at  least  as  much  earnest 
ness  and  zeal  as  the  Dutch  themselves.  The  name  of 
Roger  Williams  was  not  strange  in  New  Netherlands. 
Years  before,  he  had  successfully  mediated  between 
the  Dutch  and  their  inflamed  Indian  neighbors. 
Moreover,  the  Jews  had  still  another  cause  to  love 
him.  During  his  stay  in  England,  the  question  of 
the  Jews'  readmission  being  then  mooted,  he  wrote 
these  noble  words :  "  I  humbly  conceive  it  to  be  the 
duty  of  the  civil  magistrate  to  break  down  that  su 
perstitious  wall  of  separation  (as  to  civil  things)  be 
tween  us  Gentiles  and  the  Jews,  and  freely  (without 
this  asking)  to  make  way  for  their  free  and  peaceable 
habitation  amongst  us."  Sentiments  such  as  these 
amply  account  for  the  fact  that  the  Jewish  settle 
ment  at  Newport  followed  hard  upon  that  of  New 
Amsterdam. 

The  development  of  the  United  States  during  the 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years  following  the  settlement 
of  our  Pilgrims  has  aroused  the  wonder  and  admira 
tion  of  the  world.  More  than  eighty  millions  of  free 
people  now  inhabit  the  land,  which  then  held  a  mere 
handful;  myriads  of  farms  are  cultivated  on  what 
were  forests  and  waste  lands;  hundreds  of  thousands 
[39] 


of  miles  of  iron  roads  have  replaced  Indian  trails  and 
rude  highways ;  palaces  without  number  for  resi 
dences,  factories,  and  stores,  have  risen  instead  of  a 
few  rude  huts  and  cabins;  countless  ships  of  unim- 
agined  splendor  carry  on  the  traffic  in  necessaries  and 
luxuries,  where  a  few  birch-bark  canoes  sufficed  for 
the  bare  wants  of  the  hardy  colonists ;  personal  com 
fort,  safety,  and  happiness  have  increased  manifold; 
education  has  advanced  in  quality  and  has  been  dif 
fused  so  as  to  become  general;  the  products  of  our 
country  are  distributed  among  its  people,  and  a  large 
surplus  goes  to  add  to  the  comfort  of  other  nations, 
and  to  bring  to  us  in  exchange  therefor  the  fruits  of 
their  industries.  And  above  and  beyond  all,  the  rep 
resentatives  of  many  countries  and  races  live  together 
in  amity  and  harmony  with  the  single  mind  to  add  to 
the  greatness  of  the  nation,  the  happiness  of  its  peo 
ple,  and  the  betterment  of  mankind.  Civic  differences 
we  settle  by  the  peaceful  war  of  ballots ;  religious, 
by  the  truce  of  God  which  forbids  any  man  to  ques 
tion  another's  conscientious  belief.  Without  vain 
glory  or  boasting,  but  with  reasoned  humility  and 
gratitude  for  bounties  enjoyed,  we  may  apply  to  our 
own  great  and  glorious  country  the  words  of  the 
heathen  prophet  concerning  Israel,  "  What  hath  God 
wrought !  " 

Nor  have  these  mercies  been  singular  to  our  own 
land.  In  the  distant  East  the  sun  of  a  higher  civiliza 
tion  is  rising,  and  even  the  dark  continent  sees  a  great 
light.  For  the  teeming  millions  of  Asia  there  is  hope 
of  a  brighter  and  more  glorious  future,  and  in  the 
wastes  and  jungles  of  Africa  there  is  preparing  a 
[40] 


new  refuge  for  countless  hosts.  Would  that  we  might 
send  the  voice  of  gladness  and  gratulation  to  every 
corner  of  the  globe  1  Alas !  it  may  not  be. 

The  giant  empire  of  the  Muscovite  is  aflame.  The 
torch  of  the  incendiary  and  the  blood  of  the  righteous 
envelop  it  in  a  red  mist  of  nameless  horrors.  The 
sons  of  freedom  perish  for  their  country's  cause,  and 
Israel  is  in  the  van  of  suffering.  He  is  the  man  of 
sorrows,  inured  to  grief,  wounded  for  the  transgres 
sions  of  others,  bruised  for  their  iniquities;  he  is 
brought  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter;  he  bears  the  sin 
of  the  many,  and  yet  makes  intercession  for  the  trans 
gressor. 

The  appalling  suffering  of  the  five  million  Jews  of 
Russia  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  is  a  last 
ing  stain  upon  the  fair  fame  of  our  age.  A  corrupt 
and  imbecile  autocracy,  in  order  to  perpetuate  itself, 
has  perpetrated  crimes  which  shame  human  nature. 
It  has  suppressed  initiative  and  hindered  education, 
has  extinguished  free  activity  and  thought,  has  plun 
dered  the  poor,  robbed  the  sick,  outraged  the  help 
less,  and  hounded  to  death  or  exile  the  flower  of  Rus 
sian  citizenship.  To  the  voice  of  civilization  it  has 
turned  a  deaf  ear,  and,  drunk  with  power,  has  arro 
gantly  defied  the  protests  of  the  great  powers  and  the 
aroused  conscience  of  the  world.  The  measure  of  its 
iniquity  was  full,  when  lo!  the  word  of  the  Lord 
came  to  the  small  island  empire  of  the  Orient,  say 
ing:  "  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  toward  Gog,  and 
prophesy  against  him,  and  say,  Thus  saith  the  Lord 
God,  I  am  against  thee,  O  Gog,  and  I  will  turn  thee 
about  and  put  hooks  into  thy  jaws,  and  I  will  bring 
[41] 


thee  forth  and  all  thine  army,  horses  and  horsemen. 
Thou  shalt  say,  I  will  go  up  to  the  land  of  unwalled 
villages;  I  will  go  to  them  that  are  at  rest,  that 
dwell  safely,  all  of  them  dwelling  without  walls,  and 
having  neither  bars  nor  gates,  to  take  a  spoil,  to  take 
a  prey.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  saith  the  Lord 
God,  that  my  fury  shall  come  up  in  thy  face.  I  will 
call  for  a  sword  against  him  throughout  all  my  moun 
tains;  I  will  plead  against  him  with  pestilence  and 
with  blood.  They  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord." 

Blow  upon  blow  fell  upon  the  cruel  giant,  and  yet 
Pharaoh-like,  he  would  not  let  the  people  go.  Rather 
did  he  tear  and  rend  the  helpless  and  the  innocent, 
until  at  last  the  mighty  power  of  revolution  forced 
the  concession  that  the  people  of  the  land  have  an  in 
terest  and  a  right  in  its  government — a  concession 
which,  though  given  parsimoniously,  without  heart 
and  in  doubtful  faith,  seems  the  forerunner  of  a  sane 
and  civilized  government.  But,  alas  for  the  wicked, 
even  their  good  acts  seem  smitten  with  a  curse.  The 
minions  of  the  foul  system  of  autocracy  have  deluged 
the  land  with  the  blood  of  its  truest  and  best  citizens. 
Students,  filled  with  youthful  and  generous  ardor  for 
liberty,  thinkers  hoping  for  and  rejoicing  in  a  new 
Arcadia,  Jews  shouting  the  prean  of  freedom,  have 
gone  to  their  death  in  ruthless,  indiscriminate  mas 
sacre.  And  the  mighty  Czar,  who  but  the  other  day 
spat  in  the  face  of  civilization,  cowers  for  safety  be 
hind  the  blood-red  figure  of  Trepoff,  the  assassin  of 
women  and  children. 

Let  no  man  despair.  The  guardian  of  Israel 
neither  sleepeth  nor  slumbereth.  Out  of  this  wreck- 
[42] 


age  and  confusion,  this  tohu  va-bohu,  there  shall 
emerge  a  new  Russia,  free  and  regenerate,  as  power 
ful  for  good  as  it  has  hitherto  been  for  evil,  a  Russia 
of  noble  men  and  women  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  civ 
ilization  and  progress. 

The  nations  shall  call  her  to  a  place  by  their  side, 
and  together  they  will  begin  a  new  advance  to  the 
better.  In  that  day  the  name  of  the  autocracy  and 
its  minions  shall  be  utterly  blotted  out  and  pass  from 
the  memory  of  man.  In  a  merciful  oblivion  shall 
these  stains  on  the  fair  surface  of  humanity  be  wiped 
out. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  period  whose  ending  we  celebrate,  there  rang 
in  the  ears  of  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  the  plaintive  melo 
dies  of  the  requiem  Kaddish  for  the  myriad  victims 
of  Russian  massacre.  Alas !  that  after  this  long  lapse 
of  time  these  infamies  should  by  a  kind  of  diabolic 
rhythm  be  repeated.  But  though  joy  be  turned  into 
mourning,  let  not  hope  degenerate  to  despair.  De 
spite  wrong  and  cruelty,  suffering  and  calamity,  the 
world  yet  moves,  and  from  progress  toward  better 
days  its  course  will  not  be  swerved.  Amid  the  terror 
and  the  carnage  of  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  with  the 
roar  in  his  ears  of  the  falling  of  the  giant  temple  walls, 
Johanan  ben  Zakkai  manfully  addressed  himself  to 
the  task  of  repair  and  rebuilding,  founded  the  acad 
emy  at  Jamnia,  and  saved  Judaism. 

So  we,  in  the  midst  of  this  horrible  catastrophe, 
must  not  lose  our  bearings.     Not  only  has  the  area 
of  persecution  been  narrowed  in  the  last  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  years,  but  the  sphere  of  civilization 
[43] 


has  grown  wider,  and  the  quality  of  humanity  has  be 
come  finer  and  more  intensified.  The  feelings  of  hor 
ror  and  reproach  which  move  the  whole  Western 
world  are  due  to  a  genuine  amelioration  of  manners, 
a  true  advance  in  free  thought  and  respect  for  dis 
senting  opinions.  The  good  will  and  sense  of  jus 
tice  of  the  civilized  world  are  our  main  reliance,  and 
in  them  we  may  hopefully  trust. 

That  there  are  shadows  in  this  picture  it  were  vain 
to  deny;  that  here,  there,  and  everywhere  minorities 
are  offended,  ridiculed,  even  injured,  is  true;  that 
Jews,  as  the  universal  minority,  suffer  more  than 
others,  may  be  admitted.  This  proves  not  that  civi 
lization  does  not  advance,  but  that  it  advances  slowly, 
and  intermittently  halts  or  even  recedes.  We,  the 
heirs  of  the  ages,  looking  back  sadly  and  proudly 
to  our  historic  past,  look  forward  sadly  and  proudly  to 
our  historic  future.  When  the  whole  world  was  steeped 
in  polytheism  and  immorality,  our  ancestors  raised 
the  banner  of  pure  religion  and  morality.  Now  that 
our  moral  creed  has  become  the  universal  heritage, 
our  mission  to  press  forward  is  none  the  less  urgent. 
At  every  point  in  the  world's  progress  there  are  times, 
places,  and  opinions  which  are  desert  spots  in  the 
advance  of  mankind,  and  from  these  there  must  ever 
be  the  march  forward  to  the  horizon  land  of  Canaan, 
where  the  milk  and  honey  of  truth  and  goodness  and 
happiness  are  purer  than  in  the  regions  left  behind. 
The  quest  is  endless,  because  the  glory  of  humanity 
is  its  noble  discontent  with  the  achieved,  its  high 
hearted  search  for  the  unattainable. 

We  of  this  blessed  land  have  peculiar  causes  for 
[44] 


thankfulness,  high  incentives  for  heroic  exertion. 
Here  have  been  gathered  from  all  lands  the  free  of 
soul,  the  undaunted  of  purpose.  To  no  mere  accident 
of  soil  or  climate  can  be  ascribed  our  amazing  stature. 
The  free  institutions  of  our  country,  the  generous- 
mindedness  of  our  citizens,  their  great-heartedness, 
their  majestic  reposefulness,  their  colossal  energy — 
these  are  the  true  springs  of  our  greatness. 

And  of  this  noble  land  we  are  citizens,  free  and 
equal.  So  high  a  position  entails  high  duties.  Lazy 
indulgence  in  good  things  freely  attainable,  selfish  de 
votion  to  mere  individual  aggrandizement,  these,  while 
in  a  way  contributing  to  the  general  wealth  and 
prosperity,  are  but  paltry  factors  in  national  great 
ness.  If  we  keep  not  before  our  eyes  the  true  object 
of  the  state — justice  to  all,  the  true  objective  of  the 
individual,  the  heightening  of  the  general  ideal — we 
do  not  contribute  our  full  share  to  make  our  country 
a  shining  light  to  the  peoples  of  the  earth.  Duty  to 
the  nation  is  best  performed  by  rearing  it  on  the 
foundation  duties  which  we  perform  to  our  State,  to 
our  church,  to  our  city,  to  our  neighbor. 

The  liberty  of  this  country  demands  of  no  man  that 
he  abandon  his  conscientious  convictions;  the  rather 
it  exhorts  all  to  stand  by  them.  Not  in  a  lifeless 
monotony  of  opinion  will  we  find  a  nation  nearing 
the  goal,  but  in  a  happy  diversity  which  fuses  into 
a  glorious  harmony. 

The   Jews   of   this   country   comprise   diverse   ele 
ments.     Russian   and  Roumanian  persecutions  have 
for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  driven  to  our  shores 
those  who  risked  all  rather  than  bear  indignities  un- 
[45] 


endurable  by  the  high-hearted.  Newcomers  have  star 
tled  us  by  their  strange  garb  and  speech,  and  there 
were  not  a  few  among  us  who  at  first  recurred  to  that 
primitive  mode  of  thought  which  holds  all  that  is 
strange  to  be  odious.  Queer  tragi-comedy !  A  Gold- 
win  Smith  and  a  Treitschke,  from  the  height  of  their 
university  watchtower,  see  in  the  approach  of  a  Jew 
ish  Englishman  or  a  Jewish  German  the  same  cause 
for  alarm  as  thrills  the  nerves  of  a  Sergius  or  a  Plehve 
at  the  approach  of  a  Jewish  Russian.  And  so  it 
is  that  the  universal  learning  of  the  first  two  and 
the  universal  ignorance  of  the  latter,  equally  leave 
room  for  an  emotion  of  mere  repulsion  inherited  from 
the  remote  prehistoric  instinct  that  seeks  a  weapon  at 
the  sight  of  a  stranger.  Despite  the  persistence  of 
this  primitive  feeling  in  mankind,  every  day  tends 
more  and  more  to  weaken  it.  We  who  are  the  most 
conspicuous  sufferers  from  it  should  signalize  our 
selves  by  our  freedom  from  it.  Happily,  the  day  for 
such  narrowness  is  passing,  if  not  past. 

It  had  seemed  reasonable  to  hope  that  this  might 
be  an  occasion  auspicious  for  foreshadowing  projects 
of  larger  usefulness  for  ourselves  and  our  country, 
which  the  Jews  of  the  United  States  are  called  upon 
to  take  up  and  carry  out.  The  disastrous  occur 
rences  in  Russia,  however,  demand  immediate  and  un 
remitting  attention.  Whatever  may  be  done  to  bind 
up  the  wounds  must  be  done;  whatever  may  be  done 
to  stop  the  massacres  must  be  done;  whatever  may 
be  done  to  relieve  the  surviving  bulk  of  Russian 
Jewry  must  be  done. 

All  narrow  and  scholastic  differences  must  now  be 

[46] 


ignored.  Whatever  be  the  agency  of  relief,  bid  it 
welcome,  whether  it  come  in  the  name  of  colonization, 
or  Zionism,  or  territorialism,  or  what  you  will.  All 
forces,  individual  and  corporate,  should  unite  to  do 
what  is  possible  in  the  face  of  this  great  calamity. 

In  the  meanwhile  do  not  despair  of  Russia.  The 
officials  everywhere  are  the  creatures  of  the  autocracy 
which  is  passing,  and  though  they  may  by  assassina 
tions  and  robberies  and  mob  violence  seek  to  stop  the 
onward  march  toward  freedom,  they  are  foredoomed 
to  fail.  The  day  will  come  when  that  great  empire, 
aroused  from  its  lethargy,  will  contain  a  free,  pros 
perous,  and  happy  people.  Alas !  before  the  final 
achievement  there  must  be  much  misery  and  blood 
shed.  While  the  period  of  terror  lasts,  it  is  our 
duty  to  help  all  we  may  to  secure  protection  and  ref 
uge  for  the  victims.  We  may  not  soothe  ourselves 
with  the  anodyne  of  hope  that  there  will  be  no  further 
use  for  our  assistance;  nor  should  we  stay  our  hand 
for  a  moment  in  endeavoring  to  influence  a  change 
for  the  better  in  Russia  itself. 

At  the  head  of  our  nation  stands  its  most  illustrious 
citizen,  illustrious  in  character,  in  achievement,  and 
in  promise.  Whatever  may  be  done  by  that  marvel 
ous  combination  of  Greatheart  and  Wiseman  will 
surely  be  accomplished,  and  that  without  supplica 
tion  or  importunity,  but  of  his  own  motion.  For  us 
it  is  to  give  money,  labor,  sympathy,  and  cooperation. 

And  be  ye  well  assured  that  when  the  auspicious 
hour  strikes,  in  which  the  voice  of  civilization  can  be 
heard  amid  the  din  and  clangor  of  Russian  confu 
sion,  the  note  that  will  sound  clearest  and  carry  far- 
[47] 


thest  will  be  the  expression  of  the  conscience  of  eighty 
millions  of  free  Americans.  We,  whose  ancestors  bore 
their  share  in  the  mission  of  Columbus,  who  have  lived 
and  grown  and  thriven  alongside  our  neighbors  of  all 
shades  of  belief  in  uninterrupted  unity,  may  well 
reckon  ourselves  as  of  the  first  of  Americans,  bone  of 
the  bone  and  flesh  of  the  flesh  of  Columbia.  Our 
labors  have  been  given,  our  blood  shed  indistinguish- 
ably  with  the  rest  of  our  fellow-citizens  in  the  begin 
nings  and  for  the  rise  of  the  nation.  Our  pride,  our 
hope  in  our  country  will  not  fail,  but  will  gain  with 
the  centuries  that  in  their  passage  will  add  new  bril 
liancy  to  the  light  of  civilization  and  humanity.  And 
as  the  good  work  goes  on,  we  may  hope  that  the  ser 
pent  of  persecution  and  violence,  wherever  hidden, 
may  be  found  and  bound;  that  judgment  may  be 
given  to  them  that  sit  upon  thrones  to  do  wrong,  and 
that  this  first  quarter  of  the  millennium,  whose  pas 
sage  we  celebrate  to-day,  may  expand  into  the  full 
and  complete  millennium  in  which  those  who  have  suf 
fered  in  the  past  may  live  in  peace  and  happiness,  in 
hope  and  safety. 


[48] 


ADDRESS  BY  BISHOP  GREEK 

When  I  accepted  the  Invitation  of  your  Chairman 
to  be  present  and  say  a  few  words  on  this  occasion,  I 
did  so  very  willingly,  because  of  the  deep  interest 
which  I  have  always  felt  in  the  Hebrew  race  and 
people,  and  I  was  glad  of  an  opportunity  to  give 
public  expression  to  it.  And  this,  perhaps,  is  about 
all  that  I  can  do,  as  I  cannot  hope  to  add  anything 
to  what  has  been  already  said  by  those  who  have 
preceded  me,  and  it  would  be  a  rash  venture  to  try  to 
anticipate  what  will  be  said  by  those  who  are  to  fol 
low  me,  and  who  are  far  more  competent  than  I  am 
to  speak  to  this  occasion  and  to  rehearse  your  story 
to  you. 

I  may,  however,  be  permitted  to  state  why  that 
story  is  to  me  so  interesting  and  appealing.  First, 
because  it  is  so  exceptional  and  unique,  as  the  story 
of  a  race  which,  while  it  has  dwelt  among  so  many 
other  races,  has  yet  so  persistently  and  consistently 
maintained  its  own  racial  integrity.  Scattered  all 
over  the  face  of  the  earth,  under  all  governments 
and  in  all  countries,  the  Hebrew  race  has  had,  with 
out  a  government  and  without  a  country,  for  nearly 
two  thousand  years,  a  cohesive  nationality,  which  no 
disaster  has  destroyed,  no  misfortune  weakened,  no 
lapse  of  time  impaired.  Other  nationalities  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  and  some  of  them  very  great 
and  apparently  the  strongest,  as  though  they  were 
destined  forever  to  endure,  have  risen  and  run  their 
course  and  fallen  down,  or  fallen  in,  and  perished  and 
ceased  to  be.  But  here  is  a  nationality  which,  through 
[49] 


all  the  changing  experiences  and  vicissitudes  of  the 
centuries,  has  not  only  preserved  but  extended  its  do 
minion,  has  not  only  survived  but  flourished  and  ad 
vanced  ;  which,  without  losing  or  compromising  itself, 
has  nevertheless  inspirited  itself  into  nearly  all  the 
other  nations  of  the  world,  and  whose  quickening  and 
vital  energy,  as  George  Eliot  observes,  is  beating  to 
day  in  the  pulses,  unnoted  and  uncredited,  of  many 
millions  of  people. 

And  what  a  long  muster-roll  of  eminent  names  it 
has!  From  Moses,  the  great  lawgiver  and  Hebrew 
teacher  of  righteousness,  to  Moses  Mendelssohn,  the 
great  philosophic  thinker  and  apostle  of  Hebrew  cul 
ture  ;  from  Isaiah,  the  man  of  vision,  to  Spinoza,  the 
God-intoxicated  man ;  and  many  more  of  other  days, 
and  yet  in  some  respects  at  least  of  scarcely  lesser 
note,  of  those  who  have  contributed  in  letters  and  in 
art,  in  philosophy  and  jurisprudence,  philanthropy 
and  religion,  in  science  and  in  song,  to  the  welfare  of 
the  world.  For  what  department  is  there,  as  a  Chris 
tian  writer  testifies,  of  social  or  civil  economy,  that 
has  not  been  and  is  not  now  illustrated  and  adorned 
by  the  unconquerable  genius,  the  unimpaired  vigor, 
the  unslackened  energy,  the  immortal  youth,  of  this 
so  ancient  nation!  Surely  it  is  a  story  among  the 
stories  of  the  nations,  exceptional  and  unique,  and  I 
wonder  not  at  your  pride  in  it;  and  although  I  am 
not  of  you,  I  can  share  it  with  you,  reserving  my 
astonishment  with  some  impatience  in  it  for  those 
who  have  and  feel  such  rancorous  and  churlish  preju 
dice  against  you.  Or  is  it  jealousy  of  you?  That 
there  have  been,  and  that  there  are,  unworthy,  ignoble, 
[50] 


and  degraded  Jews,  no  one  will  deny,  and  least  of  all 
you.  But  that  is  not  a  fact  peculiar  to  your  race. 
It  is  true  of  every  race,  Christian  as  well  as  Jewish. 
But  there  is  this  further  fact  of  which  you  may  be 
proud,  that  no  matter  how  degraded  the  Jew  may 
become,  a  man  who  loves  his  home,  as  Lord  Beacons- 
field  has  said,  is  never  wholly  lost ;  and  the  Jew,  there 
fore,  he  adds,  is  never  wholly  demoralized;  for,  with 
the  patriarchal  feeling,  even  in  his  lowest  and  deep 
est  degradation,  still  lingering  about  his  hearth,  the 
Jew  loves  his  home. 

But  the  character  of  a  people,  like  the  character 
of  a  person,  should  not  be  measured  by  its  worst,  but 
rather  by  its  best;  not  by  the  depths  into  which  it 
has  at  times  sunken  and  declined,  but  rather  by  the 
heights  to  which  it  has  attained;  and  reckoned  by 
that  rule  and  by  that  standard  judged,  Israel's  rank 
is  high.  And  the  story  of  Israel's  people  is  the  story 
of  a  race  which  from  that  little  border-land  upon  the 
midland  sea  has  been  moving  on  and  on  with  an  in 
exhaustible  vigor,  through  all  the  ages  since,  cross 
ing  all  the  seas,  touching  all  the  lands,  and  all  the 
many  and  various  forms  of  their  unfolding  life,  until 
it  reached  this  land ;  not  only  here  more  freely  its  own 
destiny  to  fulfill,  but  to  become  thereafter  a  factor 
in  the  destiny  of  this  land. 

No,  I  wonder  not  at  your  pride  in  it,  nor  that  you 
are  moved,  not  merely  as  loyal  Jews  but  as  patriotic 
citizens,  to  celebrate  and  keep  this  anniversary  day 
of  the  first  Jewish  arrival,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago,  on  these  New  Amsterdam  shores.  And  yet 
it  was  not  the  first  on  these  American  shores.  For 
[51] 


the  claim  has  been  made,  and  it  seems  to  be  authentic, 
that  a  small  Jewish  contingent  had  something  to  do 
with  the  discovery  of  America,  and  that  with  the 
Spanish  caravels  that  brought  Columbus  here,  there 
also  came  members  of  the  Hebrew  race  and  faith. 

And  this  leads  me  to  speak  of  another  reason  why 
the  Jewish  story  is  to  me  so  interesting  and  appeal 
ing:  Because  it  is  the  story  of  a  persecution.  And 
it  was  in  that  eventful  year,  when  America  was  dis 
covered,  as  Judge  Daly  has  stated  in  his  scholarly 
address  on  the  Jews  in  North  America,  that  the  terri 
ble  persecution  of  the  Jews  in  Europe  began,  which 
led  to  their  expulsion  from  France,  Spain,  and  Por 
tugal,  and  which  in  its  immediate  effects  was  more 
disastrous  than  even  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
And  what  a  long  and  painful  and  cruel  story  it  is! 
Yes,  and  what  a  strange  one !  Because  it  is  the  story 
of  a  persecution  wrought,  or  at  all  events  inspired, 
by  a  religious  faith  which  claimed  to  have  and  hold 
as  one  of  its  cardinal  tenets  the  Fatherhood  of  God 
and  the  brotherhood  of  man,  and  which  declared  it  to 
be  the  highest  duty  of  man  to  love  God  with  all  his 
heart,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself.  It  might  there 
fore  be  supposed,  naturally  and  logically,  that  those 
who  held  that  faith,  or  who  professed  to  hold  it,  would 
at  least  be  tolerant  of  those  who  held  it  not,  because, 
although  they  held  it  not,  they  were  still  their  neigh 
bors,  and,  so  that  faith  declared,  closer  yet — their 
brothers.  But  neighborhood  and  brotherhood,  how 
ever  much  they  may  have  been  recognized  for  others, 
furnished  no  protection  or  refuge  for  the  Jew.  From 
all  such  asylum  or  sanctuary  privilege  he  was  ex- 
[52] 


eluded,  not  because  he  was  a  sinner  above  all  other 
sinners,  but  because  he  was  a  Jew.  That  was  the 
great  and  heinous  crime  which  he  would  not  forego, 
and  others  would  not  forget,  for  which  he  was  made 
a  pariah  and  an  outcast,  unshielded  by  the  state,  un 
sheltered  by  the  church,  and  with  a  cruel  oppression 
victimized  by  both.  Some  have  attempted  to  show 
that  this  was  chiefly  the  work  of  the  state  and  not  so 
much  of  the  church,  and  thus  have  tried  to  excuse 
at  least,  if  not  to  acquit,  the  church.  I  wish  it  were 
true,  but  I  cannot  so  read  my  history.  I  read,  on 
the  contrary,  that  the  state  was  at  times  in  advance 
of  the  church,  or  in  advance  of  what  was  called  the 
prevailing  Christian  opinion,  in  its  disposition  to 
grant  certain  rights  and  privileges  to  the  Jew.  I 
read,  for  instance,  that  in  the  year  1753  a  bill  was 
introduced  into  Parliament  for  the  naturalization  of 
all  the  Jews  who  had  been  three  years  in  the  king 
dom,  and  that,  although  it  passed  both  Houses  and 
received  the  royal  assent,  there  was  such  a  virulent 
clamor  and  opposition  to  it,  not  only  by  the  populace 
but  also  by  the  clergy,  that  the  obnoxious  measure 
had  to  be  repealed. 

But  this  is  only  one  of  many  similar  cases  which 
have  in  the  record  of  Christendom  appeared,  to  stain 
it  and  to  shame  it.  And  while,  of  course,  there  is 
and  can  be  no  apology  for  them,  yet  to  the  student 
of  human  nature  there  is,  perhaps,  some  explanation 
of  them.  For  religious  toleration  is  an  art,  a  fine 
and  a  high  art,  difficult  to  learn,  and  few  there  be 
who  learn  it;  and  even  those  who  learn  it  soon  pro 
ceed  to  unlearn  it,  or  else  to  apply  it  chiefly  to  the 
[53] 


elect,  by  which,  of  course,  they  mean  chiefly  to  them 
selves.  Fleeing  from  the  tyranny,  civil  and  religious, 
of  the  mother  country,  the  Puritan  fathers  came  to 
find  here  a  home,  or  establish  here  a  state,  where  they 
might  enjoy  without  let  or  hindrance  that  great  hu 
man  privilege  of  a  perfectly  free  conscience,  which  had 
been  denied  them  in  their  other  state  and  home.  And 
they  did  find  it,  and  they  did  enjoy  it;  and  then  pro 
ceeded  to  enact  that  no  one  for  the  time  to  come 
should  be  admitted  to  the  freedom  of  the  body  politic 
except  such  as  were  members  of  some  of  the  Puritan 
churches  within  the  limits  of  the  same.  Nowhere 
among  the  early  American  colonies  was  the  principle 
of  religious  toleration  more  clearly  and  fully  asserted, 
and  for  a  time  at  least  more  consistently  held  and 
practiced,  than  in  Rhode  Island  and  Maryland. 
Upon  that  principle  of  religious  toleration  both  of 
them  were  founded,  especially  Rhode  Island,  where, 
fleeing  from  the  bigotry  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Roger 
Williams  had  proclaimed  and  instilled  into  the  people 
of  those  Providence  Plantations  his  great  soul-liberty 
doctrine.  And  yet,  as  Judge  Daly  states,  while  both 
those  colonies  started  with  the  broadest  recognition  of 
the  rights  of  conscience  as  the  prerogative  and  privi 
lege  of  all  who  should  settle  in  them,  in  little  more 
than  a  century,  one  construed  those  rights  as  applying 
only  to  Christians,  and  the  other  as  only  to  Christians 
of  a  particular  denomination. 

Thus  do  we  find  that  even  here  in  America,  in  the 

free  and  broad  expanse  of  this  American  soil,  free 

enough  and  broad  enough  for  all  sincere  convictions, 

freedom  of  conscience  has  been  a  plant  of  slow  and 

[54] 


struggling  growth.  And  yet  that  slow  and  strug 
gling  growth  has  had  the  good  effect  to  give  it  deeper 
and  stronger  root  and  to  make  it  more  secure,  that 
so  at  last  it  might  become,  as  at  last  it  has  become, 
the  recognized  prerogative  and  privilege  of  all  in 
this  American  land  to  give  to  all  of  every  faith 
its  glad  and  grateful  shelter.  Religious  differences 
exist,  and  they  will  exist.  And  yet,  however  high  the 
separating  wall,  it  does  not  and  it  cannot  wholly  sepa 
rate,  because  that  freedom-of-conscience  plant  has  in 
this  land  become,  like  the  tribal  blessing  of  Joseph, 
a  good  and  fruitful  bough  whose  branches  run  over 
the  wall.  The  wall  may  exist,  the  walls  do  exist; 
but  they  are  covered  and  adorned  in  this  land  with 
that  beneficent  principle  of  religious  toleration  which 
makes  them  not  like  battle  walls,  to  garrison  hostile 
camps,  but  rather  more  like  garden  walls,  inclosing 
friendly  faiths,  where  each  may  have  the  chance  to 
freely  grow  and  flourish,  and  by  the  fruitage  which 
it  bears,  in  character  and  life,  in  manhood  and  woman 
hood,  and  in  civic  excellence,  to  prove  and  show  its 
relative  worth  and  make  its  value  seen. 

That  is  the  test  to  which  the  creeds  should  come, 
must  come,  and  are  coming — yours  and  mine  and  all ; 
and  to  which  sooner  or  later  the  nations,  too,  must 
come;  not  to  the  gage  of  battle,  but  rather  to  that 
friendly  rivalry  in  righteousness  whose  peaceable 
fruits  shall  determine  which  is  the  stronger  nation 
and  which  the  more  excellent  creed.  Then  will  all 
oppression  and  all  persecution  cease,  as  with  us  they 
have  ceased. 

Hence  it  is  that  we  who  are  of  a  different  faith 

[55] 


can  unite  to-day  with  you  in  friendly  and  fraternal 
tie,  and  with  no  other  kind  of  rivalry  than  a  rivalry 
in  righteousness,  in  giving  thanks  to  God  for  all  the 
blessings  which  have  come  to  this  American  land. 
And  yet,  in  the  exercise  of  that  religious  freedom 
which  is  enjoyed  by  us,  we  must  not  fail  to  remember 
those,  our  brethren  far  away,  to  whom  it  is  denied, 
and  who,  through  a  religious  and  racial  animosity, 
are  made  the  hapless  victims  of  a  cruel  persecution, 
which  in  its  wanton  ferocity  and  rancor  has  scarcely 
ever  been  surpassed  even  in  that  story,  full  of  horrors 
as  it  is,  from  Titus  to  Torquemada,  of  the  persecu 
tion  of  the  Jews,  as  though  again  to-day,  in  this  en 
lightened  age,  all  the  wild  and  untamed  savagery  that 
is  latent  in  human  nature  had  leaped  upon  them  from 
its  lair  to  rend  them  and  to  tear  them.  So  that  there 
is  mingled  with  the  jubilate  strains  of  this  Thanks 
giving  occasion,  and  this  anniversary  festival,  the  sad 
and  plaintive  minor  tone  of  a  Miserere  cry  coming 
across  the  waters,  sounding  in  our  ears,  of  men, 
women  and  children,  yes,  even  little  children,  mothers, 
and  their  babes,  who,  although  they  have  no  grievous 
crime  committed,  are  suffering  nevertheless  a  great 
and  grievous  wrong  simply  because  they  have  the 
blood  of  their  ancestors  flowing  in  their  veins.  Let 
the  Russian  Government  beware !  let  the  Russian  peo 
ple  beware,  lest,  in  trying  to  break  this  ancient  people 
of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  they  should  themselves 
be  broken !  For  while  nations  rise  and  fall,  the  Jew 
ish  race  persists,  and  no  weapon  that  is  formed  against 
it  shall  prosper. 

And  so,  with  a  story  exceptional  and  unique  among 

[56] 


the  stories  of  the  nations,  the  Jewish  race  has  been 
steadily  moving  on,  through  trials  and  persecutions, 
cast  down  but  not  destroyed,  toward  that  great  and 
high   yet   still  unfulfilled  and   undetermined   destiny 
which,  in  the  councils  of  Israel's  God,  awaits  it  in  the 
future.    May  I  give  to  this  address  a  concluding  per 
sonal  note?       Twelve  years   ago   there  was   another 
great  and  notable  assemblage  in  this  hall.     The  in 
telligence  had  been  flashed  over  the  country,  and  over 
the  world,  that  Phillips  Brooks  was  dead,   and  the 
people  of  this  city  gathered  in  great  numbers  here  to 
express  their  affection  and  admiration  for  him.     And, 
standing  in  the  place  where  I  am  standing  now,  and 
speaking  to  an  audience  as  large  as  the  audience  to 
which  I  now  am  speaking,  and  which  crowded  this 
hall  to  the  doors  and  roof,  the  noblest  tribute  paid  to 
that  Christian  man  was  by  a  Jewish  rabbi,  your  hon 
ored  Dr.   Gottheil.     It  was  the  recognition  by   one 
great  man  of  God  of  another  great  man  of  God,  each 
of  whom  in  his  way  served  Him  here  in  this  world, 
•and  both  of  whom,  I  doubt  not,  have  now,  in  some 
other  world,  a  clearer  and  a  closer  and  a  larger  vision 
of  Him. 


ADDRESS    BY    REV.    DR.    H.    PEREIRA 
MENDES 

What  saith  the  Lord?  What  does  this  celebration 
mean?  How  would  God  have  us  understand  it? 
Surely  not  as  an  occasion  to  indulge  in  mere  recita 
tion  of  Jewish  achievement  in  this  land  during  the 
last  two  hundred  and  fifty  years!  Surely  not  by 
self-congratulation  because  our  lines  have  been  cast 
in  pleasant  places,  while  our  brethren  abroad  have 
met  sorrow  and  misfortune! 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years!  A  thousand  years 
in  God's  sight  are  but  as  yesterday,  as  a  night-watch ! 
And  what  are  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  in  the 
history  of  the  deathless  nation?  likened  as  we  are 
to  the  stars  of  the  heavens,  the  sand  of  the  sea,  the 
dust  of  the  earth,  destined  therefore  to  be  and  to 
endure  until  those  heavens  vanish  in  vapor,  and  earth 
becomes  old  like  a  garment. 

When  we  were  born,  Accad  and  Nineveh  were 
strong;  Egyptian  and  Hittite  had  but  begun  their 
marvelous  achievement.  When  we  were  young  and 
in  our  own  land,  the  clang  of  Greek  arms  on  the  plains 
of  Troy  woke  the  world  to  all  that  Hellas  was  to 
mean.  When  Romulus  built  Rome's  first  walls,  when 
Homer  sang,  when  Greece  and  Persia  were  in  death- 
grip,  we  heard,  we  beheld.  Why  were  we  the  wit 
nesses?  What  was  God's  purpose? 

Like  the  stars  of  heaven  we  watched  the  rise  and 
fall  of  all  those  nations;  we  saw  the  onrush  of  bar 
baric  hosts  that  wrecked  the  ancient  mighty  powers; 
we  heard  the  crash  when  paganism  fell;  we  marked 
[58] 


the  wondrous  rise  of  the  Cross,  the  growth  and  wane 
of  the  Crescent,  the  birth  and  progress  of  the  modern 
nations ;  we,  the  eternal  witnesses  of  the  Eternal  God, 
stood  by  and  watched.  Wherefore? 

Like  the  sand  of  the  sea,  we  have  endured  crushing 
wave  and  fateful  storm,  waves  of  popular  fury, 
storms  of  Christian  hate,  whose  very  shrieks  gave  the 
lie  to  Christianity,  in  whose  name  the  tempest-furies 
were  unleashed.  Like  the  sand  of  the  sea,  weak  and 
without  cohesion,  we  beat  them  back;  we  survive;  we 
are  here  to-day,  you  whose  sires  escaped  from  Ger 
man  scorn,  you  or  yours  from  Russian  hate,  mine  from 
Spanish  Inquisition. 

Like  the  dust  of  the  earth,  trodden  upon  by  all, 
but  uppermost  at  last.  Those  who  trod  us  down  are 
dead,  buried  and  forgotten,  while  we  endure,  still 
producing  the  material  growths  which  beautify  or 
nourish  the  world,  the  spiritual  growths  which  inspire 
it.  Oh,  marvelous  destiny !  Oh,  wonderful  race,  what 
does  it  all  mean  ?  What  does  this  anniversary  mean,  a 
mere  milestone  in  the  march  of  the  eternities,  what 
does  it  mean  in  the  scheme  of  God  for  mankind's  weal, 
since  He  is  the  God  of  us  all  ? 

"  Ye  are  my  witnesses,"  saith  the  Lord. 

That  is  the  answer. 

We  are  witnesses  for  God,  for  the  three  R's  which 
nations  and  men  alike  must  heed :  Reverence  for  God, 
Righteousness  toward  our  fellow-man,  Responsibility 
for  discharge  of  duty. 

Because  the  old  nations  heeded  not  these  ideals, 
they  fell. 

So  we  say  to  an  England  to-day,  not  "  God  and 
[59] 


my  Right,"  but  "  God  and  the  Right,"  lest  my  right 
be  others'  wrong ;  to  a  France,  not  "  Liberty,  Frater 
nity,  and  Equality,"  but  "  Liberty  hallowed  by  God's 
sovereignty,  Fraternity  sanctified  by  God's  Father 
hood,  Equality  consecrated  by  God's  love." 

And  as  we  pause  at  this  anniversary,  we,  the  rem 
nant  of  the  oldest  of  nations,  say  to  this  the  greatest  of 
the  young  nations  of  to-day,  not  merely  "  government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,"  but 
"  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for 
the  people,  with  government  of  God,  by  God,  and  for 
God,"  so  that  God,  Reverence,  Righteousness,  and  Re 
sponsibility  shall  be  the  ideals  for  life  national,  life 
political,  life  social,  home  life  and  life  personal. 

We  witness  for  these  ideals.  And  the  supreme  sig 
nificance  of  this  celebration  is  that  we  must  realize 
God's  purpose,  as  we  conceive  it,  in  bringing  us  to 
this  land  to  help,  by  the  lives  we  live  as  Jews  and  as 
American  citizens,  to  upbuild  this  nation's  strength, 
her  liberties,  her  progress,  by  our  own  loyalty  to  these 
ideals — God,  Reverence,  Righteousness,  Responsibil- 
ity. 


[60] 


ADDRESSES   DELIVERED   AT   FANEUIL 

HALL,    BOSTON,   MASSACHUSETTS, 

NOVEMBER   29,    1905 


ADDRESS  BY  LEE  M.  FRIEDMAN 

Our  Jewish  fellow-citizens  throughout  the  United 
States  have  this  year  dedicated  the  Thanksgiving 
holiday  to  a  national  celebration  to  commemorate  the 
two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  first  set 
tlement  of  the  Jews  in  the  United  States.  Not  merely 
as  Jews,  but  as  American  citizens,  we  have  gathered 
here  to-night  to  testify  to  the  undying  loyalty  and 
altruistic  patriotism  of  the  Jewish  citizens  to  the  great 
American  ideals  of  liberty  and  democracy.  Not  as 
adopted  children  in  an  alien  land,  but  as  part  and 
parcel  of  the  great  American  body  politic,  that  has 
wrought  and  achieved  its  ideals  out  of  the  countless 
patriotic  sacrifices  of  successive  generations,  we  to 
night  celebrate  this  anniversary  as  an  American 
national  event. 

Ever  since  that  day  when  Columbus  first  announced 
in  a  letter  to  his  Jewish  friend,  Luis  de  Santangel, 
the  discovery  of  America  by  the  expedition  fitted  out 
by  Jewish  gold,  manned  in  part  by  Jewish  sailors,  and 
guided  into  unknown  seas  by  nautical  tables  compiled 
by  a  Jew,  printed  by  another,  and  presented  to  Colum 
bus  by  a  third — ever  since  that  day  the  Jew  has 
played  an  honorable  and  not  undistinguished  part  in 
the  history  and  development  of  the  Western  conti 
nents. 

Almost  a  hundred  years  before  the  Pilgrims  landed 
at  Plymouth,  the  Jews  had  established  their  homes  in 
the  Spanish  provinces  whence  they  came  to  the  United 
States.  Wherever  a  colony  was  dedicated  to  freedom, 
there  came  the  Jewish  settler  with  his  indomitable  en- 
[63] 


ergy,  to  share  the  hardships  and  perils  of  the  pioneer. 
In  Dutch  New  Amsterdam,  in  the  wilds  of  Georgia, 
in  the  ancient  Providence  Plantations,  and  in  Rhode 
Island,  with  the  Quakers  in  Pennsylvania,  wherever 
he  was  welcome,  the  Jew  honorably  discharged  his 
duty  of  good  citizenship. 

In  war  and  in  peace  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
the  Jew  had  an  unbroken  history  in  the  United  States 
of  active  participation  in  all  the  great  American 
events.  Truly,  in  the  words  which  Washington  ad 
dressed  to  the  Hebrew  congregation  when  he  visited 
Newport  in  1790:  "  The  citizens  of  the  United  States 
of  America  have  a  right  to  applaud  themselves  for 
having  given  to  mankind  examples  of  an  enlarged 
and  liberal  policy — a  policy  worthy  of  imitation. 
All  possess  alike  liberty  of  conscience  and  immuni 
ties  of  citizenship,"  and  Washington  continued :  "  It 
is  now  no  more  that  toleration  is  spoken  of  as  if 
it  were  the  indulgence  of  one  class  of  people  that  an 
other  enjoyed  the  exercise  of  their  inherent  natural 
rights,  for,  happily,  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  which  gives  to  bigotry  no  factions,  to  persecu 
tion  no  assistance,  requires  only  that  they  who  live 
under  its  protection  should  demean  themselves  as  good 
citizens  in  giving  it  on  all  occasions  their  effectual 
support."  And  let  me  conclude  in  the  words  of  Wash 
ington  :  "  May  the  children  of  the  stock  of  Abraham 
who  dwell  in  this  land  continue  to  merit  and  enjoy  the 
good  will  of  the  other  inhabitants — while  everyone 
shall  sit  in  safety  under  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree  and 
there  shall  be  none  to  make  him  afraid." 

[64] 


ADDRESS    OF    LIEUTENANT    GOVERNOR 
GUILD 

In  the  absence  of  His  Excellency,  the  governor,  it 
is  my  fortunate  privilege  to  welcome  heartily  to  the 
home  and  the  feast  of  the  Puritan  the  distinguished 
Americans  whom  you  honor  to-day,  to  congratulate 
you  on  the  worthy  celebration  of  this  memorable  an 
niversary,  and  to  bring  to  you  every  good  wish  of  the 
old  Commonwealth,  founded  as  a  sanctuary  where  the 
Puritan  might  worship  as  he  pleased,  but  blessedly 
developed  into  an  asylum  where  all  men,  whatever  their 
race  or  creed  or  color,  may  find  not  only  equal  reli 
gious,  but  equal  civil  rights — the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts. 

Both  Jew  and  Christian  in  America  have  a  right 
to  a  pride  in  the  anniversary,  for  it  emphasizes  the 
fact  that,  though  the  Jew  was  proscribed  in  every 
European  nation  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
though  the  Hebrews  of  Spain,  Luis  de  Santangel  and 
Gabriel  Sanchez,  who  played  so  important  a  part  in 
fitting  out  the  fleet  of  Columbus,  were  obliged  to  con 
ceal  their  real  religion  to  escape  death  in  their  own 
country,  no  act  of  exclusion  marred  the  entrance  of 
the  Jews  to  the  new  land  of  America.  The  same  year, 
too  (1655),  that  witnessed  the  liberal  policy  of  Hol 
land  with  the  Dutch  grant  to  the  Jews  of  leave  of 
settlement  in  New  Amsterdam,  saw  Oliver  Cromwell's 
Whitehall  Conference  nullify  the  edict  of  Edward  I. 
of  England  with  the  declaration  to  the  petition  of 
Manasseh  ben  Israel  that  nothing  in  law  forbade  the 
residence  of  Jews  in  England. 
[65] 


The  Puritan,  indeed,  owed  a  peculiar  debt  to  the 
Jew.  His  daily  life,  his  political  notions  even,  were 
modeled  on  his  own  conceptions  of  the  Decalogue  and 
the  Pentateuch.  His  children  bore  the  names  of  the 
patriarchs,  his  mouth  was  full  of  the  impassioned 
words  of  the  prophets,  his  very  notions  of  government 
were  not  so  far  from  those  of  the  Jewish  Common 
wealth. 

Throughout  the  long  centuries,  avarice  and  covet- 
ousness  have  been  the  basis  of  every  Gentile  taunt  of 
the  children  of  Israel.  Well  have  you  answered  the 
taunt  in  Massachusetts.  The  Bay  State  has  pro 
duced  as  yet  no  Mendelssohn,  no  Heine,  no  Gambetta, 
no  Disraeli.  The  Massachusetts  Jew  has  won  no 
especial  distinction  yet  in  music,  in  letters,  or  in  state 
craft.  Yet  he  has  won  distinction ;  he  has  served  the 
Commonwealth.  Go  to  the  hospital  where  the  sick 
rest  the  easier  for  his  tireless  labor.  Ask  the  strug 
gling  musician  who  helped  him  in  his  day  of  want. 
Whom  does  the  aged  exile  from  the  Fatherland  bless 
that  the  evening  of  his  shattered  life  is  of  peaceful 
sunset,  not  of  frozen  night?  Seek  out  the  bright  spot 
amid  the  swarming  tenements  where  the  children  of 
the  poorest  find  books  and  music  and  flowers  and  sun 
shine  and  hope  and  inspiration.  The  Jew's  fine  an 
swer  to  the  Gentile's  taunt  of  avarice  is  that  in  Massa 
chusetts  his  brethren  who  have  won  fortune  by  ability, 
have  won  distinction  only  by  philanthropy  and  the 
charity  that  suffereth  all  and  is  kind. 

From  no  race  has  America  a  greater  right  to  de 
mand  better  citizenship  than  from  the  Benai-Israel, 
[66] 


from  the  Hebrew.  The  "  stone  kraals  "  of  the  wan 
dering  Matabele  in  South  Africa,  relics  of  the  ancient 
colony  of  Sheba,  the  ancient  cuttings  of  silver  mines 
in  Spain  and  of  tin  mines  in  Cornwall,  remain  to  show 
where  the  energy  of  Solomon,  King  of  Israel,  sent  the 
fleets  of  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  west  through  the  pil 
lars  of  Hercules  to  northern  Europe  a  thousand  years 
before  Caesar's  landing  in  Britain,  and  south,  through 
a  Suez  Canal,  to  the  gold  mines  of  the  Transvaal 
three  thousand  years  before  De  Lesseps  and  Kruger, 
that  gold  and  silver  and  tin  and  copper  might  be 
found  for  the  splendor  of  the  Temple.  To  whom 
have  we  a  right  to  look,  if  not  to  the  race  to  whom 
the  Temple  and  the  mercy-seat  were  more  precious 
even  than  the  home,  for  the  preservation  of  faith  and 
trust  and  religion  and  lofty  inspiration  in  a  time  of 
skepticism  and  unbelief. 

Moses,  Judas  Maccabaeus,  Eleazar,  and  Bar- 
Kochba:  it  was  Israel,  independent  of  thought,  pas 
sionate  for  liberty,  that  raised  up  leaders  like  these  to 
loose  the  yoke  of  the  foreign  tyrant.  Can  the  Jew 
in  America  submit  or  stand  aside  in  silence  when  in  the 
great  cities,  the  States,  the  nation,  the  American  peo 
ple  rise  up  to  break  the  chains  of  domestic  tyranny  of 
boss  and  ring? 

The  Jerusalem  the  Roman  sat  down  to  besiege,  was 
a  thriving,  populous  city.  The  Jerusalem  that  Titus 
captured  was  a  grave  of  eleven  hundred  thousand  who 
had  given  life  itself  for  faith  and  freedom.  To  whom, 
if  not  to  their  children,  should  we  look  for  that  self- 
sacrifice  that  enables  poverty  to  spurn  the  gift  of  the 
[67] 


grafter  and  riches,  to  turn  aside  from  the  temptation 
of  corruption,  to  the  righteousness  that  exalteth  a 
nation. 

Lafayette  formed  the  French  tricolor  by  adding  to 
the  white  flag  of  the  Bourbon  kings,  the  red  and  blue 
of  the  shield  of  the  city  of  Paris,  that  the  French  flag 
might  represent  not  a  reigning  family  only,  but  the 
whole  French  people. 

There  is  a  flag  of  white  striped  with  blue,  the  sacred 
colors  of  Israel,  and  upon  it  is  a  star,  the  interlacing 
triangles  of  the  shield  of  David.  We  are  here  to 
gether,  my  brothers,  not  of  one  race  but  of  many,  not 
of  one  faith  but  of  many,  but  bound  by  a  single  duty, 
a  single  loyalty.  Let  us  add  to  the  flag  that  the 
Zionists  have  prepared  from  the  ancient  Jewish  sym 
bols:  let  us  add  to  the  white  of  faith  and  the  blue 
of  hope,  the  red  of  virile  courage,  and  to  the  single 
star  of  one  great  race  the  constellation  representing 
not  the  States  only,  but  the  combined  destinies  of  all 
the  races  that  blend  in  ours,  and  in  our  national 
Thanksgiving  for  the  blessings  vouchsafed  the  com 
mon  country,  let  us  pray  in  the  day  of  her  triumph,  as 
Holmes  prayed  in  the  day  of  her  danger, 

"  Keep  us,  oh,  keep  us,  the  Many  in  One." 


[68] 


ADDRESS  BY  OSCAR  S.  STRAUS 

"  Few  greater  calamities,"  says  Lecky,  "  can  befall 
a  nation  than  to  cut  herself  off,  as  France  did  in  her 
great  Revolution,  from  all  vital  connection  with  her 
own  past."     Here,  in  this  historical  hall,  dedicated  by 
that  great  commoner,  James  Otis,  as  "  The  Cradle  of 
Liberty,"  where  were  held  those  town  meetings  which 
throbbed  with  the  nascent  principles  of  democracy, 
and  where  a  decade  later  Samuel  Adams  and  Joseph 
Warren  first  organized  resistance  to  arbitrary  gov 
ernment,  it  is  most  fitting  and  proper  to  celebrate  an 
historical  event,  which,  though  insignificant  in  itself, 
yet  whose  threads,  dyed  in  the  blood  of  martyrs  for 
soul-liberty  under  the  Inquisition  in  Spain  and  Por 
tugal,  find  a  fitting  place  in  the  composite  fabric  of 
our  continent's  history  and  in  the  development  of  our 
civil  and  religious  liberties.    The  historian  of  the  per 
secution  of  the  Jews,  Dr.  Kayserling,  says :  "  Where 
the  history  of  the  Jews  in  Spain  ends,  their  history 
in  America  begins ;  the  Inquisition  is  the  last  chapter 
of  the  confessors  of  Judaism  on  the  Pyrenean  pe 
ninsula  and  its  first  chapter  on  the  continent  of  the 
Western  hemisphere."      The   expulsion   of  the   Jews 
from  Spain  and  Portugal  and  the  discovery  of  Amer 
ica  are  linked  together  not  only  as  contemporaneous 
events,  but  also  in  some  important  contributory  rela 
tions.     Emilio  Castelar,  in  his  "  History  of  Colum 
bus,"  says  that  as  soon  as  Luis  Santangel,  the  Comp 
troller-General   of   Aragon,   "one   of   those   antique 
Jews  who  have  so   greatly  helped  to  enlighten  the 
Christian  world,"  heard  of  the  dismissal  of  Colum- 
[69] 


bus,  he  prevailed  upon  the  Queen  to  order  his  return ; 
and  when  she  complained  of  the  emptiness  of  the  Cas- 
tilian  treasury,  Santangel  assured  her  Majesty  of 
the  flourishing  state  of  the  Aragonese  finances,  doubt 
less,  says  the  historian,  because  of  the  revenues  derived 
from  the  confiscation  of  the  property  of  the  expelled 
Jews.  From  the  archives  of  Simancas,  which  are  still 
preserved  at  Seville,  it  is  clear  that  Santangel,  whom 
the  historian  has  named  "  the  Beaconsfield  of  his 
time,"  and  whose  uncle  of  the  same  name,  and  other 
kinsmen,  died  at  the  stake  in  Saragossa,  not  only  was 
instrumental,  in  connection  with  Juan  Cabrera,  also 
of  Jewish  lineage,  in  successfully  interposing  on  be 
half  of  Columbus,  but  it  is  proven  beyond  question 
that  he  advanced  the  money  that  made  the  voyage 
of  discovery  possible,  out  of  his  personal  belongings. 
Furthermore,  the  first  and  the  second  letters  of  Co 
lumbus  narrating  the  facts  of  his  great  discoveries 
were  addressed  to  Santangel  and  to  the  Treasurer 
of  Aragon,  also  a  marano,  or  secret  Jew,  Gabriel 
Sanchez. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  crews  to  man  the  caravels 
of  Columbus,  it  was  necessary  to  throw  open  the  doors 
of  the  prisons  of  Palos  and  other  seaports.  Within 
their  dungeon  walls  were  found  many  members  of  the 
hunted  and  expulsed  race,  and  it  is  not  surprising 
that  to  such  men  the  dangers  of  the  unknown  seas 
would  be  an  attractive  escape  from  their  pitiable 
fate.  It  is  known  that  the  interpreter,  the  surgeon, 
and  the  physician  of  the  fleet,  besides  several  sailors 
who  were  with  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage,  were 
Jews.  Castelar  says :  "  It  chanced  that  one  of  the 
[70] 


last  vessels  transporting  into  exile  the  Jews  expelled 
from  Spain  by  religious  intolerance,  of  which  the 
recently  created  and  odious  tribunal  of  the  faith  was 
the  embodiment,  passed  by  the  little  fleet  bound  in 
search  of  another  world,  whose  creation  should  be 
new-born,  a  haven  be  afforded  to  the  quickening  prin 
ciple  of  human  liberty,  and  a  temple  reared  to  the  God 
of  enfranchised  and  redeemed  conscience.  .  .  .  The 
accursed  spirit  of  reaction  was  wreaking  one  of  its 
stupendous  and  futile  crimes  in  that  very  hour  when 
the  genius  of  liberty  was  searching  the  waves  for  the 
land  that  must  needs  arise  to  offer  an  unstained  abode 
for  the  ideals  of  progress." 

Among  the  earliest  and  certainly  the  most  enlight 
ened  colonists  who  came  to  this  continent,  to  South 
America,  and  to  the  islands  in  the  Atlantic,  were  many 
Jews  who  left  Spain  and  Portugal  in  order  to  escape 
the  rack  and  the  stake  of  the  merciless  bloodhounds 
of  the  Holy  Office.  The  number  of  the  children  and 
grandchildren  of  those  Jews  who  had  been  burned 
and  condemned  by  the  Inquisition,  and  who  settled  on 
the  American  continent  shortly  after  the  discovery, 
was  so  large  that  Queen  Johanna  considered  it  neces 
sary,  in  1511,  to  take  measures  against  them. 

In  1620,  when  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  was 
formed,  Jews  became  influential  stockholders  and  sub 
sequently  directors  therein;  and  in  1654,  when  the 
Dutch  colony  of  Brazil  came  under  Portuguese  con 
trol,  many  thousand  Jews  had  again  to  flee  and  seek 
a  new  place  of  refuge.  In  September  of  that  year 
twenty-three  of  these  fugitives  arrived  at  New  Am 
sterdam.  They  did  not  receive  a  hearty  welcome  from 
[71] 


the  not  over-amiable  Dutch  governor,  Peter  Stuyve- 
sant,  whose  conception  of  our  future  metropolis  was 
to  make  it  a  comfortable  little  Dutch  village  with  a 
monopoly  of  fur  trade  with  the  Indians.  When,  six 
months  later,  the  governor  endeavored  to  expel  the 
newcomers,  he  was  reprimanded  by  the  directors  of  the 
company  in  Holland,  and  instructed  that  the  right  of 
the  Jews  to  live  unmolested  within  the  colony  was  un 
reservedly  granted,  because  to  prohibit  them  "  would 
be  unreasonable  and  unfair,  especially  because  of  the 
considerable  loss  they  had  sustained  in  the  capture  of 
Brazil,  and  because  of  the  large  amount  of  capital 
they  had  invested  in  the  shares  of  the  company." 

This  is  the  beginning  of  the  first  Jewish  settlement 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  whose  two 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  we  are  commemorat 
ing  to-night.  The  same  year,  1655,  through  the 
persistent  efforts  of  Manasseh  ben  Israel,  enlisting  the 
kindly  favor  of  the  tolerant  Oliver  Cromwell,  the  Jews 
regained  admission  into  Great  Britain,  from  which 
country  they  had  been  expelled  in  1290  under  Ed 
ward  I.  It  should  be  here  noted  that  one  of  the  fore 
most  advocates  for  the  re-admission  of  the  Jews  in 
Great  Britain  was  Roger  Williams,  that  immortal  pio 
neer  of  soul-liberty,  the  first  true  type  of  an  American 
freeman,  who  was  then  in  London,  to  obtain  a  new 
charter  uniting  the  several  Rhode  Island  towns,  and 
to  secure  and  safeguard  those  inestimable  blessings  to 
which  he  consecrated  his  life,  under  which  "  all  men 
may  walk  as  their  conscience  persuades  them,  every 
one  in  the  name  of  his  God." 

Three  and  a  half  decades  before  the  St.  Catarina 
[72] 


brought  the  little  band  of  hunted  and  despoiled  fugi 
tives  from  Brazil  to  our  shores,  another  little  bark 
had  plowed  its  way  in  midwinter  through  the  stormy 
ocean,  wafted  by  the  airs  of  heaven  to  yon  bleak  coast. 
There  she  landed  her  little  crew  of  refugees,  men, 
women,  and  children,  on  Plymouth  Rock,  that  step 
ping  stone  to  the  temple  of  our  liberties,  whose  cap 
stone,  bathed  in  the  blood  of  their  descendants,  was 
placed  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  later  by  the  hands 
of  the  immortal  liberator,  Abraham  Lincoln.     They 
were  purists  without  priests  or  priestly  orders,  sepa 
rated  from  the  national  church,  but  at  one  with  their 
God,  and  drawing  their  inspiration  directly  from  the 
Bible — not  the  catechism  of  Archbishop  Laud,  but 
from  the  open  Bible  of  Moses  and  Luther.      They 
were  in  all  a  hundred  souls,  whom  two  hundred  years' 
struggle  for  freedom  had  prepared  for  this  voyage. 
They  studied  the  Old  Testament  in  order  to  better 
understand  the  New.     From  the  former  they  drew 
their  civil  polity;  from  the  latter  their  church  dis 
cipline  and  ceremonials.     Moses  was  their  lawgiver, 
the  Pentateuch  their  code,  and  Israel  under  the  judges 
their  ideal  of  popular  government.     The  path  of  the 
crusaders  to  recover  the  holy  sepulchre  was  dyed  with 
the  blood  of  the  hunted  professors  of  Judaism,  and 
from  a  hatred  organized  by  the  church  against  "  the 
people  of  the  book,"  the  book  itself  fell  into  dis-es- 
teem,  a  feeling  which  was  carried  over  with  many  of 
the  Roman  rites  into  the  early  Protestant  Church. 
With  the  rise  of  the  Puritans,  and  their  struggle  for 
independency   and   freedom   from   ecclesiastical   tyr^ 
anny,  came  a  revival  of  the  study  of  the  Old  Testa- 
[73] 


mcnt,  of  Hebrew  and  of  Hebraic  learning.  With  the 
American  Puritans  especially,  the  Mosaic  code  and 
the  Hebrew  commonwealth  were  living  realities,  so  in 
tense  was  their  interest,  so  earnest  was  their  religious 
life.  No  architect  drew  his  plans  with  more  fidelity 
of  purpose  to  reconstruct  a  building  after  an  ancient 
model  than  did  the  Puritans  study  this  biblical  code 
and  the  Hebraic  form  of  government,  which  they  en 
deavored  to  apply  literally  to  their  New  Canaan. 
Elsewhere  I  have  dwelt  in  detail  upon  the  Hebraic 
mortar  that  cemented  the  foundations  of  our  Ameri 
can  democracy,  and  how  through  the  windows  of  the 
Puritan  churches,  the  New  West  looked  back  to  the 
Old  East. 

It  was  only  a  few  years  after  their  first  settlement 
in  New  York  that  several  of  the  fugitives,  and  others 
who  had  arrived  from  across  the  seas,  settled  in  New 
port,  where  they  were  hospitably  received  in  conso 
nance  with  the  spirit  of  the  colony's  founder,  Roger 
Williams.  These  early  Puritans,  austere  in  manner 
and  with  a  church  polity  exacting  and  narrow,  calling 
no  man  master,  and  with  a  deep  sense  of  equality  be 
fore  God,  it  was  but  a  step  to  equality  among  one 
another,  thus  building  up  their  civil  state  upon  a 
purely  religious,  democratic  foundation.  As  Lecky 
says :  "  It  is  at  least  an  historical  fact,  that  in  the 
great  majority  of  instances  the  early  Protestant  de 
fenders  of  civil  liberty  derived  their  political  princi 
ples  chiefly  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  the  defend 
ers  of  despotism  from  the  New." 

The  American  Jews,  as  loyal  and  faithful  citizens, 
have  shared  willingly  in  all  the  trials  our  country  has 
[74] 


passed  through,  from  the  days  of  the  Revolution  until 
the  present  time,  and  she  has  found  none  more  ready 
than  they  to  make  every  sacrifice  that  true  patriotism 
demanded.  During  the  Revolution  there  were  only 
a  few  hundred  Jews  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  yet  we  find  in  the  Continental  army,  not  to 
speak  of  the  ranks,  there  were  two  colonels,  Colonel 
Bush,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  other  Colonel  Franks, 
who  was  the  bearer  of  the  treaty  of  peace  to  England. 
Thomas  Wentworth  Higginson  relates  that  in  1788, 
in  Philadelphia,  in  honor  of  the  adoption  of  the  Con 
stitution,  there  marched  side  by  side  a  rabbi  and  two 
Christian  ministers — "  really,"  are  his  words,  "  con 
stituting  the  first  parliament  of  religions  in  this  coun 
try."  In  our  Civil  War  more  than  seven  thousand 
names  of  Jewish  patriots  have  been  identified,  and 
during  our  lesser  war  with  Spain,  twenty-seven  hun 
dred  participated,  and  several  regiments  were  formed, 
but  their  services  were  not  required. 

The  criticism  is  often  made  that  the  Jews  are  clan 
nish,  and  do  not  amalgamate  with  the  rest  of  the 
population.  This  is  only  partially  true.  Clannish 
they  are,  not  from  choice  but  from  self-respect.  They 
have  amalgamated  as  far  as  the  delicacy  of  social 
relations  justified,  and  there  are  not  a  few  of  the  very 
best  families  in  this,  and  in  other  cities,  who  have 
evidences  of  that  amalgamation  in  their  veins.  John 
Howard  Payne,  who  gave  us  that  song  which  never 
fails  to  thrill  a  patriot's  heart,  "  Home,  Sweet  Home," 
was  the  son  of  a  Jewish  mother.  No  people,  ancient 
or  modern,  have  brought  such  great  sacrifices  for 
spiritual  ideas  and  ideals  as  the  Jews;  the  longest 
[75] 


trail  of  martyrdom  in  all  history  is  crimsoned  with 
their  blood.  George  Eliot,  quoting  the  historian 
Zunz,  says  in  "  Daniel  Deronda  " :  "  If  there  are 
ranks  in  suffering,  Israel  takes  precedence  of  all  the 
nations ;  if  the  duration  of  sorrows,  and  the  patience 
with  which  they  are  borne,  ennoble,  the  Jews  are 
among  the  aristocracy  of  every  land;  if  a  literature 
is  called  rich  in  the  possession  of  a  few  classic  trag 
edies,  what  shall  we  say  to  a  national  tragedy  lasting 
for  fifteen  hundred  years,  in  which  the  poets  and  the 
actors  were  also  the  heroes  ?  " 

It  is  sad,  and  a  cause  for  regret,  that  we  must  con 
jure  up  the  mournful  pictures  oppression  has  en 
graved  in  blood  upon  the  pages  of  history,  but,  alas ! 
every  day  brings  to  our  doors  the  haggard  and  hunted 
faces  of  fugitives  from  oppression.  The  Armenians, 
among  the  earliest  professors  of  Christianity,  once  a 
proud  and  noble  race,  whose  numbers  have  been  deci 
mated  time  and  again  by  organized  massacres,  daily 
reach  our  shores,  and  give  thanks  to  God  that  they  are 
sheltered  beneath  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  far  beyond 
the  reach  of  their  Russian  and  Ottoman  oppressors. 
Only  yesterday  we  read  with  throbbing  hearts  of  the 
massacre  of  thousands  of  helpless  men,  women,  and 
children  in  Odessa,  Kief,  Kishineff,  and  a  hundred 
cities,  towns,  and  hamlets  throughout  Russia.  So 
long  as  these  terrible  outbreaks  of  religious  fanaticism 
and  class  hatred  disgrace  our  age  and  our  civilization, 
let  us  not  forget  the  everlasting  meaning  of  the  im 
print  the  feet  of  the  Pilgrims  made  upon  our  con 
tinent,  that  it  shall  ever  be  a  "  shelter  for  the  poor  and 
the  persecuted."  To  bar  out  these  refugees  from 
[76] 


political  oppression  or  religious  intolerance,  who  bring 
a  love  of  liberty  hallowed  by  sacrifices  made  upon 
the  altar  of  an  enlightened  conscience,  though  their 
pockets  be  empty,  is  a  grievous  wrong,  and  in  viola 
tion  of  the  spirit  of  our  origin  and  development  as  a 
free  people,  for  they,  too,  have  God's  right  to  tread 
upon  American  soil,  which  the  Pilgrims  have  sanctified 
as  the  home  of  the  refugee. 

' '  Ay,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  soil  where  first  they  trod, 

They  have  left  unstained  what  there  they  found — 
Freedom  to  worship  God." 


[77] 


ADDRESS  BY  PRESIDENT  ELIOT,  OF  HAR 
VARD   UNIVERSITY 

You  have  already  heard  that  a  few  Jews  came  to 
America  very  early  in  the  settlement  of  this  country, 
and  through  their  efforts  after  freedom  for  themselves 
and  their  descendants,  took  active  part  in  the  develop 
ment  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  on  the  new  continent ; 
but  the  large  Jewish  immigration  has  taken  place 
within  the  last  twenty-five  years,  so  that  its  widespread 
effects  are  all  the  more  striking  because  they  are  so 
recent.  If  ever  any  race  came  hither  in  search  of  lib 
erty  arid  equality  before  the  law,  and  of  the  safety 
and  prosperity  which  industry  and  virtue  can  win  in 
a  fresh  land  under  just  conditions,  it  is  the  Jews  who 
have  come  to  the  United  States  since  1880.  They 
have  literally  sought  here  freedom  to  worship  God, 
freedom  to  live  in  peace,  freedom  to  earn  a  livelihood 
by  honest  toil — all  these  liberties  being  denied  them 
in  the  places  whence  they  came. 

The  Jewish  race  has  been  unique  in  its  sufferings. 
Enslaved  in  Egypt,  carried  into  captivity  by  Assyria, 
overrun  by  Rome,  ghettoed  and  systematically  robbed 
by  mediaeval  Europe,  banished  at  one  time  or  another 
from  most  European  countries,  at  this  day  persecuted 
and  butchered  by  Russia  and  Roumania,  the  long  story 
of  their  terrible  woes  has  come  down  through  thou 
sands  of  years  to  the  present  moment.  As  a  race  they 
have  not  exhibited — at  least,  not  for  many  genera 
tions  past — the  martial  qualities ;  but  they  have  shown 
the  most  astonishing  endurance  and  vitality,  and  their 
intellectual  and  moral  qualities  have  survived  every 
[78] 


conceivable  kind  of  physical  and  moral  oppression.  If 
the  race  has  been  unique  in  its  sufferings,  it  has  also 
been  unique  in  its  power  of  resistance  and  endurance. 
To  what  is  this  power  due?  The  answer  to  this  ques 
tion  is  plain ;  and  it  is  highly  instructive  to  other  races, 
and  indeed  to  all  men  who  aspire  and  hope.  The 
Jewish  power  of  endurance  and  survival  is  due  to 
their  religious  faith. 

For  the  whole  civilized  world  this  race  has  been  the 
source  of  all  the  highest  conceptions  of  God,  man,  and 
nature.  Through  this  race  was  developed  not  only 
the  Hebrew  religion,  but  also  the  Christian  religion; 
for  the  Christian  religion  was  only  an  outcome  or  de 
velopment  of  the  religion  of  the  Hebrews,  the  early 
expounders  of  the  new  religion,  afterwards  called 
Christian,  being  exclusively  Jews.  I  say  that  the 
highest  conceptions  of  God,  man,  and  nature  are  all 
Jewish.  Let  us  examine  each  of  these  three  concep 
tions.  The  Jews  originated,  and  still  preserve,  the 
loftiest  descriptions  of  the  attributes  of  God.  For 
them  thousands  of  years  ago  He  was  the  one  only  God, 
a  pure  Spirit,  infinite  in  knowledge,  power,  and  good 
will.  He  was  an  almighty  God,  who  worked  to  create 
and  maintain,  loved,  and  was  to  be  loved.  The  de 
scriptions  of  this  one  God  in  Hebrew  literature  have 
never  been  equaled ;  and  they  can  never  be  surpassed. 
In  many  other  literatures  are  found  cosmogonies,  or 
accounts  of  the  creation  of  the  universe ;  but  nowhere 
can  be  found  an  account  of  creation  so  superb  and  so 
sound,  all  modern  knowledge  and  speculation  taken 
into  account,  as  that  given  in  the  first  sentence  of  the 
Hebrew  Bible:  "In  the  beginning  God  created  the 
[79] 


heavens  and  the  earth."  Again,  the  Jewish  concep 
tions  of  man's  nature,  as  set  forth  in  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  sound  all  depths  and  reach  all  heights. 
Human  lust,  cruelty,  and  treachery,  and  human  mis 
ery  and  sorrow  can  never  be  more  vividly  portrayed 
than  they  are  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures.  Neither  can 
the  splendors  of  human  courage,  magnanimity,  and 
justice,  the  steady  glow  of  human  love,  and  the  incite 
ments  of  courage  and  hope,  be  more  nobly  set  forth. 
Concerning  man,  the  Jewish  seers  asked  all  the  funda 
mental  questions  which  subsequent  philosophers  have 
ever  asked,  and  answered  them  better.  "  What  is 
man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him,  or  the  son  of  man 
that  Thou  visitest  him?  "  is  one  of  these  fundamental 
questions ;  and  how  glorious  the  answer :  "  Thou  hast 
made  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels,  and  hast 
crowned  him  with  glory  and  honor."  God  did  not 
leave  the  dignity  of  man  to  be  expounded  by  nine 
teenth-century  scholars  and  divines;  thousands  of 
years  ago  Jewish  prophets  taught  their  doctrine  in  all 
its  amplitude.  Thirdly,  the  ancient  Hebrew  poetry 
is  full  of  the  aptest,  sweetest,  and  most  impressive 
descriptions  of  Nature  and  all  her  works,  and  of  the 
influence  of  Nature  on  the  spirit  of  man.  Innumer 
able  phrases  are  of  immortal  beauty.  "  Let  there  be 
light :  and  there  was  light."  "  Canst  thou  bind  the 
sweet  influences  of  the  Pleiades  ?  "  "  He  maketh  me 
to  lie  down  in  green  pastures."  "  He  leadeth  me  be 
side  the  still  waters."  "  Consider  the  lilies  how  they 
grow."  No  race  has  ever  surpassed  the  Jewish  de 
scriptions  of  either  the  beauties  or  the  terrors  of  the 
nature  which  environs  man. 
[80] 


Another  tap-root  of  Jewish  endurance  and  vitality 
is  the  race's  power  of  prayer.     Prayer  is  the  supreme 
effort  of  the  human  intelligence — the  effort  of  finite 
man  to  commune  with,  and  even  to  speak  to,  the  In 
finite.     The  Jews  have  always  had,  and  still  have,  an 
extraordinary  influence  on  their  own  race,  and  now  on 
all  civilized  races,  through  their  marvelous  genius  in 
prayer.     Consider  for  a  moment  what  an  influence  on 
the  human  race  the  few  short  sentences  brought  to 
gether  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  have  had.     Those  sen 
tences  have  been  solemnly  uttered  by  untold  millions 
of  mankind,  are  uttered  every  day  by  millions — by 
little  children  and  men  and  women  at  the  most  sacred 
moment  of  the  day,  in  the  sweetest  mood  of  the  day, 
in  gregarious  worship,  in  the  utmost  solitude  of  the 
soul,  in  the  most  loving  communion  of  parents  and 
children.     Now  every  clause  in  the  Lord's  Prayer  is 
thoroughly    Jewish.     Every   phrase   is   instinct   with 
Jewish  sentiment.     It  was  first  uttered  by  a  Jew,  and 
then  remembered  and  transmitted  by  Jews.     It  per 
fectly  illustrates  a  distinctive  and  permanent  power 
of  that  race. 

One  other  quality  of  the  Jews  has  had  much  to  do 
with  their  survival  as  a  race.  In  their  family  rela 
tions  they  are  singularly  pure,  tender,  and  devoted. 
This  may  be  in  part  a  consequence  of  the  cruel  perse 
cutions  to  which  almost  all  Jewish  communities  have 
been,  first  or  last,  subjected.  Each  family  was  bound 
together  by  the  pressure  of  external  wrongs,  and  only 
in  the  family  home  could  be  found  consolation  and 
hope;  but  clearly  their  religion  fostered  filial  piety. 
"  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother  "  is  a  command 
[81] 


on  a  level  with  "  Thou  shalt  have  no  other  gods  before 
me." 

These  moral  and  spiritual  attributes  of  the  Jews 
have  brought  them  .in  comparative  safety  through 
formidable  physical  and  moral  evils  which  have 
stretched  through  thousands  of  years.  At  last  the 
race  has  found  a  land  where  it  can  develop  in  peace 
and  freedom.  If  there  is  any  human  stock  on  earth 
which  should  love  and  honor  America,  it  is  the  Jewish 
stock.  It  finds  here  freedom  not  only  to  worship  as 
they  choose  the  God  of  their  fathers,  but  opportunity 
to  reap  the  fruits  of  their  racial  industry,  frugality, 
and  intelligence.  In  other  centuries  and  other  places 
they  have  been  excluded  from  the  professions  and  from 
many  arts  and  trades.  Here  all  callings  are  open  to 
them.  Their  genius  for  commerce  and  trade,  for 
music  and  the  fine  arts,  here  has  free  play.  They 
will  also  have  here  a  precious  opportunity  to  improve 
the  bodily  qualities  of  their  race,  impaired  by  the 
oppression  of  ages.  The  race  is  sometimes  called  a 
pure  race,  in  the  sense  that  it  is  free  from  admixtures 
from  other  races;  but  this  is  by  no  means  the  case. 
Scattered  as  they  have  been  through  many  nations, 
they  have  everywhere  mixed  with  the  people  among 
whom  they  lived;  and  accordingly  there  are  many 
different  types  of  Jews  now  coming  hither,  as  the 
Polish,  the  German,  and  the  Roumanian.  By  the  ad 
mixture  of  these  various  types,  the  bodily  and  mental 
attributes  of  the  race  can  be  greatly  improved,  and 
this  improvement  will  be  one  result  of  the  welcoming 
freedom  they  here  enjoy.  A  race  which  receives  such 
benefits  from  our  free  institutions  will  become  ardent 
[82] 


supporters  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  This  devo 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  Jewish  race  to  the  character 
istic  institutions  of  America  will  be  fostered  by  the 
nature  of  their  ecclesiastical  organizations.  Follow 
ing  ancient  custom  their  congregations  are  all  inde 
pendent,  or  autonomous,  like  those  of  the  Christian 
denomination  called  Congregational;  so  that  their 
synagogues  and  temples  are  places  of  training  for 
self-government  and  the  wise  exercise  of  liberty. 

Let  all  the  other  national  stocks  which  have  met  on 
the  fresh  territory  of  the  Republic  welcome  the  Jewish 
stock  to  a  free  competition  in  racial  intelligence, 
morality,  and  honor;  and  let  all  the  other  races  in 
America  recognize  the  fact  that  the  prodigious  vital 
ity  of  the  Jews  is  due  at  bottom  to  a  sublime  religious 
idealism. 


[83] 


ADDRESS    BY   BISHOP   LAWRENCE 

Knowing  that  the  Governor-elect,  Mr.  Straus,  and 
President  Eliot  were  to  precede  me  I  have  not  written 
or  prepared  a  paper,  for  I  was  sure  that  they  would 
suggest  every  thought  that  I  should  present,  and  in 
an  abler  way  than  I  could.  This  they  have  success 
fully  done.  All,  therefore,  that  is  left  for  me  to  do 
is  to  present  to  you  a  few  of  the  same  thoughts,  but 
in  such  an  informal  way  as  may  suggest  a  personal 
debt,  and  as  a  bishop  of  the  Christian  Church,  an 
official  obligation  to  the  Jewish  people. 

1.  The  whole  Christian  Church  is  under  daily  obli 
gation  to  the  faith,  history,   and  traditions   of  the 
Hebrews.     I  cannot  forget  that  every  time  we  offer 
our  prayers  and  praises  in  our  Christian  churches  we 
are  expressing  our  faith  in  the  language  of  the  an 
cient  and  chosen  people. 

From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  service  the 
Psalter,  lessons,  prayers,  and  hymns  are  either  in  the 
very  words  of  the  Jewish  lawgivers,  singers,  and 
prophets,  or  else  saturated  with  their  thought  and 
character. 

Dear  as  we  of  the  Christian  Church  hold  our  faith, 
we  are  bound  and  glad  to  confess  that  it  is  based  upon 
the  deep  and  broad  foundations  which  were  revealed 
by  God  through  the  Hebrew  people.  To  your  fathers 
in  the  blood  and  our  common  fathers  in  the  faith  we 
give  grateful  thanks. 

2.  Men  of  faith  are  men  of  ideals.     The  Jews  are 
essentially  idealists.     In  this  age  when,  with  the  over 
coming  of  physical  obstacles  through  the  settlement 

[84] 


of  new  countries  and  the  increase  of  wealth,  the  ma 
terial  side  of  life  is  so  fully  recognized,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  those  who  are  in  the  midst 
of  these  influences,  and  especially  those  who  may  be 
come  leaders,  should  be  idealists. 

May  we  venture  to  hope  that  the  great  inflow  of 
Jews  to  this  country  will  reinforce  that  idealism  which 
was  planted  here  by  the  Puritans  who  founded  their 
faith,  traditions,  law,  and  government  so  closely 
along  the  lines  of  the  old  Dispensation?  Immersed  as 
you  are  and  ought  to  be  in  the  struggle  for  a  living 
for  yourselves  and  your  families  or  in  the  legitimate 
increase  of  your  fortunes,  it  is  well  to  recall  the  finer 
traditions  of  your  race,  that  insight  which  through 
the  wars,  social  revolutions,  and  political  overthrows, 
always  saw  God's  hand,  wrought  for  higher  spiritual 
truth  and  brought  the  righteousness  of  heaven  into 
the  affairs  of  this  earth. 

Idealists  you  have  been  through  the  centuries, 
idealists  may  you  remain  in  this  land  of  promise. 

3.  It  is  one  of  the  temptations  of  religious  faith 
to  cut  itself  off  from  character  and  dwell  in  the  dreams 
of  emotions. 

Mysticism  is  an  essential  feature  of  faith.  The 
ancient  Jews  had  it.  But  they  were  safeguarded  by 
the  ethical  foundation  of  their  religion.  The  greatest 
Jews  of  old  were  lawgivers  and  the  interpreters  of 
God's  law  to  the  people  of  their  day. 

How  the  righteousness,  the  justice,  and  the  anger 
of  God  against  a  sinning  people  ring  out  from  the 
past  and  mingle  with  the  songs  of  His  love  and  tran 
scendent  glory! 

[85] 


The  need  in  the  Christian  Church  to-day  is  for  a 
deeper  faith  in  a  righteous  God,  for  an  interpreta 
tion  of  religion  which  is  ethical.  To  the  ancient  scrip 
tures  of  Judaism  we  turn  for  our  guidance.  We 
Christians  may  learn  from  you  to-day. 

I  would  not  be  true  to  myself  or  my  faith  if  I  did 
not  express  my  conviction  that  we  have  in  the  Chris 
tian  faith  a  far  deeper  and  broader  foundation  for 
character  and  the  development  of  an  ethical  temper 
than  exists  in  the  Hebrew  faith.  The  future  of  man 
kind  is  wrapped  up  in  the  integrity  of  the  Christian 
faith. 

Yet  again  I  say  that  the  Christian  Church  is 
under  obligation  to  the  ethical  temper  of  the  Jewish 
faith ;  that  in  your  coming  to  this  land  there  came 
this  great  contribution  to  religion,  and  throughout 
its  history  the  character  of  this  nation  is  to  be  based 
upon  a  faith  which,  deep  and  spiritual,  is,  therefore, 
ethical,  and  intimately  concerned  with  the  affairs,  the 
business,  the  politics,  and  the  social  life  of  men. 

In  connection  with  this  will  you  allow  me  to  empha 
size  what  it  was  on  my  mind  to  say,  and  what  Presi 
dent  Eliot  has  already  mentioned,  that  the  integrity 
of  the  family  for  which  the  Jew  has  always  stood,  is 
a  tradition  which  is  of  the  deepest  value  in  this  day 
and  nation. 

When  the  marriage  tie  is  lightly  regarded,  the 
home  neglected,  and  the  rearing  of  children  shirked 
by  our  people,  we  shall  look  to  you  to  sustain  your 
finest  traditions  of  family  and  home. 

4.  Mr.  Straus  has  reminded  you  that  for  many 
centuries  you  have  suffered  for  your  faith;  that  out 

[86] 


of  the  furnace  of  affliction  your  characters  have  been 
refined;  that  you  are  inured  to  suffering  and  molded 
for  sacrifice. 

In  this  land  of  liberty  and  equality  you  will  be 
called  upon  for  no  such  suffering ;  the  burdens  of  per 
secution  you  will  not  have  to  bear. 

In  what  cause  may  your  powers  of  endurance  be 
put  to  the  test?    What  burdens  are  you,  whose  shoul 
ders  have  been   made  strong,   going  to   carry?      In 
whose  service  will  you  be  glad  to  suffer?     Surely  you 
will  not  belie  your  past  through  the  easy  enjoyment 
of  liberty,  personal  ambition,  or  fortune. 
You  will  sustain  your  traditions. 
This  great  democracy  lays  upon  every  man  the  bur 
den  of  the  Government.     It  demands  of  all  its  citizens 
sacrifice.     Our  cities  and  villages,  our  caucuses  and 
elections,  our  schools  and  State  and  National  Govern 
ments  are  calling  for  the  richest  sacrifice,  not,  to  be 
sure,  of  our  blood — to  pour  that  out  in  heroic  death 
is  easy — but  of  our  lives,  our  time,  our  thought,  our 
moral  courage,  our  independence  of  character,  our 
selves. 

Here  is  the  great  opportunity  of  the  Jewish  peo 
ple  :  to  live,  to  suffer,  if  need  be,  for  the  purity  of  the 
State,  to  carry  the  burdens  of  the  people,  to  lift  our 
political  and  social  life  to  higher  standards. 

Some  of  your  brethren  are  already  standing  true 
and  to  the  front.  They  are  calling  to  all  to  follow. 

Thus  by  your  public  spirit  you  will  be  built  into 
the  national  fabric. 

For  in  this  nation  and  century  lies  an  opportunity 
never   before   given   to   the   Jewish   people — that   of 
[87] 


entering  on  even  terms  with  the  whole  people  into  the 
government  of  a  nation,  its  political,  social,  and  re 
ligious  life. 

The  people  of  all  lands  who  come  here  are  on  trial ; 
you  are  on  trial;  the  good  name  of  humanity  is  here 
at  stake  on  this  one  point:  shall  you  and  they  join 
together,  and  as  one  people  make  of  this  nation  one 
to  which  all  men  may  look  as  in  charity,  purity,  and 
righteousness,  the  Land  of  Promise? 


[88] 


ADDRESS  BY  REV.  DR.  C.  FLEISCHER 

Tennyson  speaks  somewhere  of 

.     .     .     some  broad  river  rushing  down  alone 

With  the  self-same  impulse  wherewith  he  was  thrown, 

And,  in  the  middle  of  the  green  salt  sea, 

Keeps  his  blue  waters  fresh  for  many  a  mile. 

That  simile  has  long  served  me  as  a  symbol  of  the 
Jew.  Viewed  objectively,  he  has  seemed  to  me  to  be 
like  a  clearly  marked  gulf  stream  in  the  ocean  of 
humanity, — plainly  a  part  of  it,  yet  never  lost  in 
it.  Here  in  America,  that  ancient  social  fact  con 
tinues.  The  Jew's  isolation,  despite  the  mingling  of 
his  current  with  the  vaster  waters,  is  still  apparent. 
Indeed,  Jews  and  non-Jews  alike  are  so  accustomed 
to  thinking  of  the  Jew  as  a  separate  social  element, 
that  I  am  not  surprised  that  the  question  is  asked: 
"  What  has  been  the  special  contribution  of  the  Jew 
to  America?"  A  rather  difficult  query,  because  his 
is  largely  only  a  seeming  separateness.  And  then, 
too,  whatever  the  Jew's  contribution  may  have  been, 
it  has,  in  the  main,  been  made  unconsciously.  How 
ever,  a  human  group,  which  has  in  its  progress 
through  all  the  ages  maintained  an  identity  as  marked 
as  that  of  the  gulf  stream  in  the  ocean,  must  have 
some  distinct  and  characteristic,  if  not  distinctive, 
traits.  I  have  no  theological  or  metaphysical  no 
tions  about  the  persistent  survival  of  the  Jews 
despite  experiences  which  would  seem  sufficient  to 
have  annihilated  them.  I  am  neither  orthodox 
enough  Jew  to  believe  that  God  would  not  let 
[89] 


His  "  chosen  people "  perish,  nor  orthodox  enough 
Christian  to  believe  that  the  Jews  are  kept  alive  as 
a  "  horrible  example,"  to  show  the  sufferings  which 
must  come  to  a  people  which  refuses  to  "  accept 
Christ." 

Simply  I  face  the  fact  of  the  Jew's  almost  un 
canny  survival,  and  I  say,  in  the  spirit  of  social 
science :  "  Here  you  have  another  case  of  the  sur 
vival  of  fitness."  Reference  has  been  made  to  the 
supposed  fact  that  the  Jew  needs  the  opportunity  for 
physical  regeneration  which  America  affords  him. 
On  the  contrary,  I  am  surprised  at  the  vitality  and 
the  physical  excellence  which  the  Jewish  immigrant 
brings  hither,  after  all  these  centuries  of  unfavorable 
physical  environment.  That  we  are  a  volcano  of 
nerves  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  since  most  Jews  for 
ages  were  conceived  and  born  in  terror.  And  still 
it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  America  and  freedom  will 
benefit  the  Jew  physically.  But  surely  no  one  will 
claim  that  the  Jew  is  degenerated  morally  or  mentally 
or  spiritually.  "What  of  that,"  do  you  ask?  And 
I  answer :  "  Everything  of  that !  "  And  I  insist  that 
you  have  in  the  Jews  a  social  group  which  has  learned 
the  science,  and  which  practices  the  art,  of  living. 

Consider  what  has  been  the  experience  of  the  Jew 
at  the  hands  of  his  fellow-men ;  consider  the  fires  that 
have  tried  to  melt  him  out  of  shape  and  the  waters 
which  have  attempted  to  pull  him  apart;  think  how 
little  of  normal  human  existence  he  has  known  these 
past  two  thousand  years — and  then  you  will  realize 
why  he  is  bent  here,  twisted,  crooked  or  warped 
there;  then  you  will  understand  the  superficial  un- 
[90] 


pleasantnesses  of  the  man  in  whom,  as  Isaiah  says, 
"  when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty  that  we 
should  desire  him."  But  even  then  you  will  not 
know  the  Jew.  For  remember,  all  his  ugly  outward 
experiences  have  not  been  able  to  uglify  his  soul, 
they  have  not  unmade  the  Jew,  the  manl  In  the 
lower  strata  even,  among  the  Jews,  the  average  of 
humanness  runs  high. 

In  a  word,  the  Jew  is  civilized.  Long  ago  he 
learned  the  lessons  of  living  and  what  is  man's  busi 
ness  on  earth.  And  what  is  that  business?  Merely 
to  become  human — to  lose  the  beastly,  to  subdue  the 
savage,  to  subordinate  the  animal,  to  become  human. 
Having  learned  that  lesson,  the  Jew  was  fitted  to 
survive.  One  beastly,  savage,  animalistic  "  civiliza 
tion  "  after  another  perished.  But  the  Jew  survived 
— because  he  was  really  civilized!  He  thought  him 
self  "  chosen " — he  had  chosen  himself,  making 
humanness  and  mankind  his  business !  Moral  mono 
theism  became,  at  the  same  time,  his  philosophy  of 
life  and  his  interpretation  of  the  universe.  It  became 
his  passion,  his  very  being,  his  whole  existence.  This 
served  to  sublimate  him,  to  intensify  his  humanness 
and  thus  to  increase  his  fitness  for  survival.  It  was 
his  inward  and  unfailing  fount  of  strength,  his  out 
ward  and  impenetrable  coat  of  mail.  He  could  shout : 
"  Though  my  enemies  encompass  me,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  I  shall  triumph  over  them !  "  It  enabled  him 
at  death,  whether  in  peaceful  bed  or  on  the  in 
quisitor's  rack,  to  proclaim  again  the  victory  of  faith : 
"  Hear,  O  Israel,  the  Lord  our  God,  the  Lord  is  One !  " 
Though  the  first  Jewish  settlers  came  hither  two 
[91] 


hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  most  of  us  in  this 
vicinity  are  comparative  newcomers,  not  more  than 
twenty-five  years  old  as  Americans.  That  matters 
little,  since  the  Jew  is  an  old  hand  anywhere  at  doing 
the  world's  work.  And  he  feels  easily  at  home  in 
America,  consecrated  as  this  nation  is  to  the  very 
ideals  which  have  preserved  and  glorified  the  Jew. 

I  feel  moved  to  say  that  the  Jew's  separateness 
will  continue  until  total  humanity  is  as  human  as 
its  "  gulf  stream."  Anyhow,  none  will  deny  that 
the  Jew's  separateness  has  been  worth  while,  and  that 
he  has  contributed  a  worthy  element  to  America  and 
to  the  world.  That  fact  we  are  celebrating  here 
to-night.  I  believe  that  the  Jew  will  continue  loyal 
to  his  calling,  the  same  from  Abraham's  and  Isaiah's 
day  to  this :  to  be  the  glad  slave  of  the  ideal,  to  be 
intensely  and  broadly  human,  to  be  civilized,  to  be 
the  servant  (if  need  be,  still  the  suffering  servant)  of 
humanity.  In  that  hope  and  faith,  let  me  bring  this 
meeting  to  a  close,  in  a  manner  befitting  the  occasion 
and  the  sacred  hall  in  which  we  are,  by  reciting  as 
a  sort  of  benediction,  in  King  Solomon's  original 
Hebrew,  the  words  of  Boston's  civic  seal,  SICUT  DEUS 

NOBIS  SICUT  PATRIBUS  ! 

:pTD&rDy  rrn  -I^KD  uoy  p\-&N  mrp  \T 
"  The  Lord  our  God  be  with  us  as  he  was  with  our 
Fathers!" 


[92] 


SELECTED   ADDRESSES 

THE  ADDRESS  BY  MR.  MARSHALL  WAS 
DELIVERED  IN  ALBANY;  THE  ADDRESSES 
BY  DR.  COHEN  AND  REV.  DR.  KRAUSKOPF 
WERE  DELIVERED  IN  PHILADELPHIA;  JUDGE 
MACK  AND  REV.  DR.  HIRSCH  IN  CHICAGO; 
REV.  DR.  KOHLER  AND  REV.  DR.  PHILIPSON 
IN  CINCINNATI;  REV.  DR.  HELLER  IN  NEW 
ORLEANS;  GOVERNOR  PARDEE,  PRESIDENT 
WHEELER,  AND  REV.  DR.  VOORSANGER  IN 
SAN  FRANCISCO;  AND  THE  LETTER  FROM 
GOVERNOR  FOLK  WAS  READ  AT  THE  MEET 
ING  IN  ST.  LOUIS 


ADDRESS   BY   LOUIS   MARSHALL 

The  words  of  the  Psalmist,  with  which  we  began 
our  evening  service,  most  appropriately  depict  the 
spirit  which  should  prevail  on  this  historic  occasion : 

"  It  is  good  to  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord,  and  to 
sing  praises  to  the  Most  High." 

Throughout  the  limits  of  this,  our  beloved  country, 
our  Jewish  brethren  are  now  assembled  to  commemo 
rate  the  auspicious  day  on  which  the  first  Jewish  set 
tlers  built  their  homes  within  these  boundaries,  and 
to  indulge  in  thanksgiving  to  the  God  of  Israel  for 
the  blessings  that  have  resulted  from  that  momentous 
fact. 

A  survey  of  the  civilized  world,  as  it  existed  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  indicates  that  so  far  as 
the  Jew  was  concerned — politically,  materially,  so 
cially — his  fortunes  were  at  the  lowest  ebb.  Driven 
from  England  in  1290,  for  365  years  no  Jews  had 
been  permitted  to  live  in  the  land  which  has  become 
the  mother  of  freedom.  Driven  from  Spain  in  1492, 
and  shortly  thereafter  from  Portugal,  none  of  Jewish 
stock,  save  the  Marranos,  whose  outward  lives  were 
the  incarnation  of  falsehood,  dwelt  upon  the  Iberian 
Peninsula.  In  1648,  the  Cossack  uprising  under 
Chmielnicki  transformed  the  dream  of  peace  and  pros 
perity  of  the  Russian  and  Polish  Jews  into  the  horri 
ble  reality  which  has  ever  since  overwhelmed  them 
with  an  avalanche  of  misery,  wretchedness,  and  de 
gradation.  The  Jews  of  Germany  and  Austria  dwelt 
within  Ghetto  walls,  and  suffered  from  every  species 
[95] 


of  insult,  contumely,  and  discrimination.  In  France 
and  Italy  the  Jew  was  a  Pariah  and  an  outcast. 

Holland  was  the  sole  oasis  in  the  desert  of  human 
malevolence.  There  the  Jew  and  the  Puritan,  the 
ancient  and  the  modern  people  of  the  Book,  found  a 
haven  of  refuge,  and  behind  the  dikes  of  toleration 
of  that  enlightened  country,  were  afforded  protec 
tion  from  the  wild  sea  of  persecution  which  menaced 
them. 

From  Holland  sailed  the  Mayfiower  with  its  pre 
cious  cargo  of  humanity.  Thence  sailed  a  party  of 
Jews,  to  found  a  colony  in  Brazil,  which  then  owed 
allegiance  to  the  Netherlands.  For  a  time  fortune 
smiled  on  the  colonists.  They  prospered.  They  were 
happy.  Their  hearts  were  filled  with  gratitude  to  the 
God  who  had  enabled  Columbus  to  discover  the  new 
continent,  not  with  the  aid  of  the  jewels  of  Isabella, 
but  with  that  of  the  Jews,  whose  funds  supplied  the 
caravels  which  formed  the  discoverer's  convoy. 

But  their  joy  was  shortlived.  In  1654  Portugal 
wrested  from  Holland  the  Brazilian  territory,  and 
these  children  of  "  the  tribe  of  the  wandering  foot " 
were  once  more  compelled  to  take  up  their  pilgrimage 
to  seek  more  favorable  skies.  A  party  of  twenty- 
three  set  sail  on  the  St.  Catarina  for  New  Amsterdam, 
believing  that  Holland,  with  which  they  had  united 
their  fortunes,  owed  to  them,  somewhere,  a  resting 
place.  In  their  hasty  departure  they  were  compelled 
to  sacrifice  their  possessions,  and,  to  secure  the  captain 
of  the  vessel  for  their  transportation,  each  of  that 
band  of  refugees  became  sponsor  for  the  others  and 
pledged  his  person  and  his  goods  to  attain  that  har- 

[96] 


bor,  around  which  there  now  dwells  the  largest  Jew 
ish  community  the  world  has  ever  known. 

It  is  a  source  of  inspiration,  not  only  to  their  de 
scendants,  but  to  the  entire  country  as  well,  that  the 
grandchildren  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  annually  cele 
brate  their  historic  landing  on  Plymouth  Rock,  and 
dwell  upon  the  virtues  of  their  ancestors,  their  devo 
tion  to  principle,  their  willingness  to  make  every  sacri 
fice  for  the  right  to  exercise  their  consciences,  their 
struggles,  and  their  triumphs. 

It  will  serve  equally  as  an  inspiration  to  us,  and  as 
a  valuable  lesson  to  our  fellow-citizens  of  other  de 
nominations,  to  become  better  acquainted  with  the 
Jewish  Pilgrim  Fathers  who,  when  the  inhabitants  of 
what  is  destined  to  become  the  cosmopolis,  consisted 
of  a  mere  handful,  landed  here,  as  the  pioneers  of 
Jewish  settlement.  They  were  poor  and  humble,  as 
were  the  Fathers  of  the  Knickerbockers.  They  were 
unfortunate,  as  were  most  of  the  dwellers  in  the  infant 
colony.  They  were  imbued  with  a  deep  and  abound 
ing  trust  in  God,  a  virtue  possessed  by  the  greater 
part  of  our  early  American  colonists.  They  differed 
in  one  respect  only — they  were  the  victims  of  the 
prejudice  and  of  the  intolerance  of  the  entire 
world. 

Their  greeting  in  New  Amsterdam  was  inauspi 
cious.  Their  goods,  which  had  been  pledged  for  their 
transportation,  were  seized.  Two  of  their  number 
were  imprisoned  as  hostages  until  the  funds  should 
arrive  with  which  to  meet  the  obligations  of  the  party. 
Peter  Stuyvesant,  the  hard-headed  and  the  irascible, 
moved  by  the  bigotry  of  the  age,  gave  notice  that  the 
[97] 


new  arrivals  were  not  only  unwelcome,  but  would  not 
be  received,  and  that  they  must  once  more  cross  the 
dreary  waste  of  waters  to  seek  anew,  if  such  there 
were,  a  place  to  rest  their  weary  feet. 

Surely  this  was  a  condition  more  serious  than  the 
hyperborean  blasts  of  winter,  the  defiant  war  cry  of 
the  savage  Indian,  the  terrors  and  privations  of  the 
wilderness.  But  that  small  band  was  composed  of 
that  stuff  which  builds  states  and  nations — men,  self- 
respecting,  dignified,  permeated  with  the  Maccabean 
spirit ;  men  cognizant  of  their  rights,  devoted  to  prin 
ciple,  seeking  justice,  who  were  willing,  if  need  were, 
to  fight  for  the  recognition  of  their  manhood.  And 
so,  when  Stuyvesant  threatened  deportation  and 
sought  to  slam  the  gates  of  America  in  the  faces  of 
these  Jewish  immigrants,  they  did  not  tamely  or 
cringingly  submit,  they  did  not  fawn  or  bend  the 
suppliant  knee,  but  they  appealed  to  the  Dutch  West 
India  Company,  which  was  the  controlling  power  over 
the  colony,  insisting  upon  their  right  to  become  in 
habitants  of  New  Netherland. 

As  a  result,  on  April  26th,  1655,  a  glorious  day  in 
the  history  of  Israel,  came  from  Holland  the  charter 
of  our  liberties,  based  not  on  sufferance,  but  on  con 
siderations  of  equity  and  justice,  in  which  was  pro 
claimed  this  message,  replete  with  healing  to  those 
aching  hearts: 

"  After  many  consultations  we  have  decided  and 
resolved  upon  a  certain  petition  made  by  said  Portu 
guese  Jews,  that  they  shall  have  permission  to  sail 
to  and  trade  in  New  Netherlands  and  to  live  and  re 
main  there,  provided  the  poor  among  them  shall  not 
[98] 


become   a   burden   to   the   company    or   to   the   com 
munity,  but  be  supported  by  their  own  nation." 

And  so  they  found  a  spot  upon  the  globe  on  which 
the  right  to  live  and  to  remain  was  granted  to 
them. 

But  to  live,  oft-times  means  but  to  vegetate ;  to  crave 
and  beg ;  to  slink  with  downcast  eyes  before  a  master's 
frown;  to  sow  in  terror  and  to  reap  in  dread;  to  see 
the  bows  of  promise  fade  and  die.  This,  too,  might 
have  been  the  fate  of  our  pioneers,  had  there  not  been 
among  them  a  man  of  heroic  stature,  of  Titanic  mold, 
worthy  to  occupy  a  commanding  position  in  the  Wal- 
halla  of  our  early  American  history.  High  looms  up 
the  figure  of  Asser  Levy,  a  man  whose  name  I  can 
never  mention  without  the  deepest  reverence,  the 
protagonist  of  Jewish  rights  and  liberties  in  America, 
the  embodiment  of  the  Jew  militant,  the  prototype  of 
the  American  revolutionist,  than  whom  there  is  no  one 
in  the  history  of  our  people  more  worthy  to  be  held  in 
honored  memory.  The  records  of  New  Amsterdam 
overflow  with  civic  victories  attained  by  him,  more 
potent  in  their  consequences  than  those  won  on  the 
bloody  fields  of  battle. 

Stuyvesant,  smarting  under  the  reversal  of  his 
policy  by  his  superiors,  became  a  strict  constructionist 
of  the  grant  which  enabled  the  Jews  to  trade  in  New 
Netherland,  and  forbade  them  to  trade  at  Fort 
Orange,  your  present  city  of  Albany,  or  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Delaware.  Promptly  the  Jews  appealed 
to  Holland,  and  promptly  came  a  decree  permitting 
trade  to  be  carried  on  throughout  the  Dutch  posses 
sions. 

[99] 


The  rights  given  to  the  Jews  were  then  declared 
by  Stuyvesant  not  to  include  that  of  holding  real 
property.  Once  more  an  appeal  was  taken  to  the 
authorities,  and  again  the  Jew  prevailed,  and  Asser 
Levy  became  the  first  Jewish  owner  of  real  property 
within  the  United  States,  and  it  will  be  interesting 
for  you  to  know  that  this  acquisition  of  property,  as 
has  been  established  by  our  distinguished  friend,  Mr. 
Rosendale,  took  place  in  1661,  in  your  own  city,  one 
year  before  a  Jew  became  the  owner  of  real  prop 
erty  in  the  City  of  New  York. 

At  this  time,  life  in  New  Amsterdam  was  far  from 
secure.  The  enemies  of  Holland  threatened  from  the 
sea,  and  the  Indians  from  the  land,  and  it  became 
necessary  for  the  burghers  to  stand  guard  for  the 
protection  of  their  homes.  Stuyvesant  would  not 
permit  the  Jews  to  exercise  this  right  of  municipal 
defense,  and  imposed  on  them,  in  lieu  of  that  obliga 
tion,  a  special  tax.  The  tax  collector  came  to  Asser 
Levy  with  his  warrant.  "  Is  this  tax  imposed  on  all 
of  the  residents  of  New  Amsterdam  ?  "  was  the  ques 
tion  propounded.  "  No,"  was  the  reply ;  "  it  is  only 
imposed  upon  the  Jews,  because  they  do  not  stand 
guard."  "  I  have  not  asked  to  be  exempted,"  said 
Asser  Levy ;  "  I  am  not  only  willing,  but  I  demand 
the  right  to  stand  guard."  "  But  you  are  not  a  citi 
zen,"  was  the  objection  which  met  him.  "  Then  what 
is  there  to  prevent  my  becoming  a  citizen  ?  "  was  his 
proud  rejoinder.  A  new  contest  arose;  Stuyvesant 
quailed  before  the  resolute  man,  and  Asser  Levy  be 
came  the  first  Jewish  citizen  in  America,  acquiring 
that  priceless  badge  of  manhood  which,  it  was  then 
[100] 


contended,  had  never  been  completely  conferred  even 
on  those  Jews  who  resided  in  Amsterdam  itself. 

Levy  having  thus  the  right  of  a  burgher,  asked  to 
become  one  of  the  sworn  butchers  of  the  community. 
He  was  refused  because  of  his  religion,  but,  as  usual, 
he  fought,  and  the  right  was  accorded  to  him,  with 
the  added  condition,  upon  which  he  insisted,  religious 
Jew  as  he  was,  that  he  should  not  be  compelled  to 
slaughter  swine. 

There  are  records  extant  of  upward  of  seventy  liti 
gations  in  which  this  remarkable  man  was  engaged. 
He  was  his  own  counsel,  and,  almost  without  excep 
tion,  he  succeeded  in  his  contentions,  because  they 
were  right  and  consisted  merely  of  a  demand  for 
justice.  He  was  not  a  respecter  of  persons,  He 
even  sued  a  member  of  the  Governor's  family  for 
enticing  away  a  servant,  and  withal  he  gained  the 
respect,  not  only  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived, 
of  its  inhabitants  and  its  governing  body,  but  he  was 
even  called  into  Connecticut  for  the  purpose  of  ad 
justing  differences  and  of  protecting  the  rights  of 
his  brethren  in  faith.  His  civic  and  tolerant  spirit  was 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  he  loaned  money  to  the 
Lutheran  congregation  to  enable  it  to  build  a  house 
of  worship,  a  spirit  subsequently  manifested  in  1711 
by  the  Jews  of  that  time,  who  contributed  a  substan 
tial  amount  for  the  erection  of  a  steeple  for  Trinity 
Church  in  the  City  of  New  York. 

Would  that  there  were  Asser  Levys  in  Russia  in 

these   trying   days;   that   our   unfortunate   brethren 

there  might  have  had  such  beginnings  as  those  which 

we  owe  to  his  indomitable  spirit;  that  the  conscious- 

[101] 


ness  of  the  rights  of  'manhood  might  beat  in  the 
bosoms  of  the  oppressed  everywhere  with  the  same 
force  and  virility  that  it  did  in  the  breasts  of  our 
Jewish  pioneers!  Russian  history  might  not  then  be 
written  with  the  blood  of  defenseless  martyrs,  and  this 
hour  of  our  thanksgiving  would  not  be  embittered 
with  the  grief,  the  sorrow,  the  depression  of  soul, 
which  have  been  evoked  by  the  unspeakable  brutality 
and  bestiality  which  have  transformed  the  Jewish 
quarters  throughout  the  awful  Pale  of  Settlement  in 
hapless  Russia,  into  slaughter  pens  and  reeking 
shambles. 

The  colonial  Jew  availed  himself  of  his  rights.  He 
freely  engaged  in  trade  and  commerce,  on  a  large 
scale,  as  an  exporter  and  importer.  His  merchan 
dise  floated  on  every  sea.  His  enterprises  were  exten 
sive.  He  invaded  the  wilderness  and  added  largely 
to  the  productive  wealth  of  the  country  with  which  he 
became  identified.  During  the  Revolutionary  War 
he  cast  his  fortunes  with  the  infant  republic.  He 
served  in  the  Continental  Army.  In  the  dark  days, 
when  the  British  seized  New  York,  the  majority  of 
the  leading  Jews,  leaving  their  property  behind 
them,  removed  to  Philadelphia,  loyal  to  the  country 
which  they  felt  to  be  their  own.  When  the  treasury 
was  well-nigh  empty,  Haym  Salomon  loaned  out  of  his 
private  fortune,  sums  of  money  which  in  those  days 
seemed  enormous,  a  large  part  of  which  was  never 
repaid  to  him  or  to  his  descendants.  Not  only  did 
he  furnish  funds  to  the  Government,  but,  without  his 
munificence,  such  men  as  Madison,  as  they  themselves 
confessed,  would  have  been  unable  to  have  given  to 
[  102  ] 


the  cause  of  liberty  the  energies  which  they  devoted 
to  it. 

But  why  recite  these  instances  of  the  loyalty  of  the 
American  Jew  to  this  Government?  At  every  junc 
ture,  in  every  crisis,  he  has  made  the  cause  of  this 
country  his  own,  because  he  knew  himself  to  be,  and 
was,  an  integral  part  of  the  American  people.  It  is 
to  point  out  that  fact,  to  prove  that  the  Jew  is  not  a 
parasite,  an  exploiter  of  the  country,  or  a  newcomer 
within  its  gates,  that  we  are  celebrating  on  this  occa 
sion.  It  is  not  to  call  attention  to  the  Jew  as  a  re 
ligious  factor,  but  as  a  civic  element  in  the  grand  com 
posite  of  American  citizenship.  He  is  an  American 
of  the  Americans — a  Jew  by  faith  and  religion,  an 
American  in  all  that  that  term  can  betoken. 

It  is  remarkable  how  quickly  the  Jewish  immigrant, 
both  he  of  the  early  days,  as  well  as  he  of  to-day, 
absorbs  the  ideals  and  the  spirit  of  this  country ;  how 
quickly  he  responds  to  the  test  of  good  citizenship; 
how  ready  he  is  to  make  every  sacrifice  for  the  country 
which  recognizes  him  as  one  of  its  component  parts; 
how  grateful  he  is  to  the  Almighty  for  having  blessed 
the  earth  with  a  land  whose  government  is  based  on 
the  great  principles  of  liberty,  equality,  and  frater 
nity,  of  justice  and  righteousness. 

If  the  hitherto  inert  mass  of  the  Russian  people 
could  but  be  made  to  see  that  those  whom  it  has  re 
garded  as  an  alien  race,  from  whom  it  has  withheld 
every  right  and  every  privilege,  whom  it  has  op 
pressed  and  repressed,  out  of  whom  it  has  sought  to 
drive  every  hope  and  every  aspiration,  whom  it  has 
crushed  beneath  the  iron  heel  of  tyranny,  and  under 
[103] 


the  infinitely  heavier  stigma  of  contempt,  hatred,  and 
obloquy,  when  transplanted  to  American  soil,  in  a 
few  years  become  dignified,  industrious,  patriotic,  self- 
respecting,  and  productive  citizens,  they  would  recog 
nize  the  tremendous  moral  and  economic  loss  that  their 
country  is  sustaining  as  a  result  of  its  cruelly  insane 
policy,  and  repent  of  their  stupendous  and  criminal 
folly. 

Our  fellow-citizens,  at  least,  fully  appreciate  that 
we  are  of  them  and  they  of  us,  together  constituting 
a  single  unit — that  of  the  American  citizen ;  that  our 
title  is  as  ancient  as  theirs;  that  it  is  not  conferred 
upon  us  as  a  matter  of  favor  or  of  grace;  that  we 
have  earned  it  by  fighting  for  it;  that  our  blood  has 
been  shed  upon  the  battle-fields  of  the  republic  for  its 
preservation,  and  that  we  cherish  it  as  a  priceless 
possession,  and  love  the  country  from  which  we  have 
derived  it,  because  it  is  our  own,  and  because  it  is  the 
first  in  modern  times  in  which  the  Jew  secured  the 
precious  boon  of  full  citizenship. 

The  charter  from  the  Dutch  West  India  Company 
contained,  as  we  have  seen,  but  a  single  condition,  that 
which  provided  that  the  poor  among  us  should  not 
become  a  burden  to  the  community,  but  should  be  sup 
ported  by  us.  Have  we  fulfilled  that  obligation? 
Let  the  records  of  the  nation  be  our  answer.  Let 
the  statistics  concerning  the  poor  and  the  dependent 
speak  for  us.  Let  the  magnificent  charitable  institu 
tions  maintained  solely  by  the  Jews  of  this  country, 
and  which  are  to  be  found  in  every  State,  in  every 
city,  be  our  witnesses.  Let  the  public  authorities  in 
dicate  whether  throughout  the  two  hundred  and  fifty 
[  104  ] 


years  of  our  American  settlement,  we  have  ever  failed 
in  performing  either  the  letter  or  the  spirit  of  this 
blessed  condition.  The  burden  has  oft-times  been  a 
grievous  one ;  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  for  a 
time,  at  least,  it  will  not  be  diminished ;  but  to  me  it  is 
a  source  of  pride  and  exultation  that,  although  we  are 
citizens  of  a  common  country,  the  religious  duty  of 
caring  for  our  own  brethren,  of  standing  by  their 
side  in  the  days  of  their  wretchedness  and  misery  and 
poverty,  of  extending  to  them  the  helping  hand  of 
brotherhood,  of  enabling  them  to  rise  to  the  heights 
of  citizenship,  and  of  becoming  useful  members  of 
the  State,  self-reliant,  self-supporting,  self-respect 
ing,  has  been  especially  imposed  upon  us.  May  we 
never  prove  recreant  to  this  holy  obligation,  to  this 
tremendous  trust,  and  may  our  descendants  never  for 
get  the  debt  of  gratitude  that  they  owe  to  the  first 
Jewish  settlers,  nor  we  the  gratitude  that  we  owe  to 
the  God  of  our  fathers,  Who  has  led  us  out  of  Egypt 
into  this  land  of  freedom. 


[105] 


A   WAY   IN   THE    SEA  AND   A   PATH   IN 
THE   MIGHTY  WATERS 

Address  by  DE.  SOLOMON  SOLIS  COHEN 

We  are  met  to-night  as  American  citizens  to  cele 
brate  an  incident  in  the  history  of  our  country, 
fraught  with  good  promise  for  the  common  weal;  a 
promise  amply  fulfilled  by  the  event.  We  are  also 
met  as  descendants  of  an  ancient  people  and  adherents 
of  an  ancient  faith,  to  celebrate  the  same  incident  in 
its  relation  to  our  religion  and  our  race. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  the  fourth  of  a  mil 
lennium,  is  a  long  period,  if  measured  by  the  era  of 
the  independence  of  these  United  States — which  has 
fulfilled  little  more  than  the  half  of  that  tale;  but 
it  is  only  a  brief  while  in  the  history  of  Israel.  In 
the  Eternal  Vision,  as  it  regards  men  and  nations  and 
events,  the  time  is  neither  brief  nor  long;  for  therein 
"  a  thousand  years  are  even  as  a  day  while  it  passes, 
or  as  a  watch  in  the  night."  Centuries  may  come  and 
go  in  dull  monotony  or  in  dark  debasement,  and  a 
single  moment  shall  flash  with  sudden  brilliance  as  of 
Horeb's  bush,  illuminating  all  time  to  come. 

It  is  not,  therefore,  the  mere  passage  of  the  years 
that  we  have  assembled  to  commemorate.  Nor  have 
we  gathered  here  only  that  we  may  felicitate  ourselves 
upon  the  growth  of  our  nation  or  of  our  church,  upon 
the  strength  and  wealth  of  the  republic  that  we  have 
helped  to  upbuild,  or  upon  the  rights  and  immuni 
ties,  the  material  progress,  the  intellectual  develop 
ment,  the  moral  expansion  of  the  house  of  Israel  in 
[106] 


America,  during  these  two  hundred  and  fifty  sun- 
circlings  of  the  earth.  If  antiquity  were  the  only 
merit  of  our  congregations  and  our  homes,  then 
though  we  had  survived,  like  the  fabled  toad  in  the 
rock,  through  a  thousand,  nay,  ten  thousand,  years  of 
slothful  uselessness,  yet  would  silence  be  the  better 
part ;  for  in  such  case  not  pride  were  ours,  but  shame. 

Happily,  we  are  not  condemned  by  shame  to  silence. 
We  may  take  a  just  pride  in  the  work  done  by  those 
of  our  race  and  faith  for  God  and  for  man  upon  this 
Western  continent;  a  work  that  began  longer  ago 
than  a  quarter-millennium,  and  that  shall,  God  willing, 
go  on  while  man  endures  upon  the  earth.  Jews  had 
probably  settled  in  North  America  before  the  St. 
Catarina  brought  her  precious  cargo  of  souls  from 
Brazil  to  New  Amsterdam ;  and  whether  or  not  it  be 
true  that  the  first  white  man  to  set  foot  upon  West 
Indian  soil  was  a  secret  Jew,  Columbus's  interpreter, 
it  is  now  a  commonplace  of  knowledge  that  Jews  were 
among  the  crew  of  "  the  world-seeking  Genoese " ; 
that  his  vessels  were  equipped  by  the  munificence,  not 
of  Queen  Isabella,  but  of  some  of  her  Jewish  subjects, 
and  that  the  theories,  predictions,  charts,  and  instru 
ments  by  which  was  inspired  and  guided  that  momen 
tous  voyage,  were,  in  large,  if  not  largest,  part,  the 
work  of  Jewish  astronomers  and  Jewish  navigators. 

Thus  there  comes  into  the  minds  of  all  here  assem 
bled,  the  thought  of  those  historic  coincidences  so 
often  commented  upon,  and  yet  ever  so  full  of  new 
meanings.  On  the  ninth  day  of  Ab,  3174  (586 
B.C.E.),  Nebuchadrezzar,  the  Chaldean,  the  most 
powerful  empire  builder  of  the  East,  took  Jerusalem 
[107] 


and  destroyed  its  temple.  On  the  ninth  day  of  Ab, 
3830  (70  C.E.),  the  second  temple  was  destroyed  by 
Titus,  wielder  of  the  Roman  world-power.  On  the 
ninth  day  of  Ab,  5262,  Spain,  soon  to  be  chief  among 
the  nations  of  the  West,  thrust  out  from  her  gates 
300,000  Jews  who  preferred  exile  to  apostasy.  That 
trebly  sad  Tish'a  b'Ab  was,  in  the  Julian  calendar,  the 
second  day  of  August,  of  the  year  1492  of  the  Chris 
tian  era.  It  brought  to  a  close  a  watch  in  Israel's 
night,  that  had  not  been  without  its  periods  of  splen 
did  illumination  by  stars  of  wondrous  brilliance.  On 
the  third  day  of  August,  1492,  Columbus  set  sail  from 
Palos,  in  that  same  Spain,  to  open  the  gates  of  a 
new  land  wherein  the  "  tribes  of  the  wandering  foot 
and  weary  breast "  were  to  find  freedom  and  peace — 
and  the  sustained  light  of  day. 

And  yet  another  mournful  historic  parallel  comes 
to  mind.  While  the  immigrants  of  the  St.  Cata- 
rlna  were  struggling  for  and  obtaining  that  recog 
nition  of  their  full  right  of  manhood,  their  more  than 
full  obligation  to  the  common  weal  and  to  their  special 
community  which  is  the  most  that  Jews  ask,  the  least 
that  they  ought  to  accept,  in  the  countries  of  their 
dispersion- — while  in  London,  Cromwell  and  Manas- 
seh  ben  Israel  were  holding  the  historic  conference 
that  led  to  the  renewal  of  the  right  of  Jews  to  reside 
openly  in  Great  Britain — even  then  from  the  ground 
where  tigerish  bigotry  had  spilled  it  in  a  meteless  flood, 
the  voice  of  our  brothers'  blood  called  out  to  Heaven 
against  the  Russian  Cain ;  and  the  singing  and 
laughter  that  had  filled  the  mouths  of  them  delivered 
in  the  West,  gave  way  to  sobs  and  lamentation,  re- 
[108] 


echoing  the  cries  of  them  that  had  been  overwhelmed 
by  cruel  hatred  in  the  East.  So  to-day,  at  this  sea 
son  of  national  thanksgiving  and  of  racial  joy  we 
are  rudely  awakened  from  our  dream  of  universal 
brotherhood,  and  our  cheers  are  hushed  and  our 
thoughts  are  sobered  by  the  reflection  that  the  day 
of  persecution  is  not  yet  over ;  that  the  divine  adven 
ture  of  human  history  has  not  yet  won  to  the  ex 
tinction  of  the  beast  in  man. 

Does  not  our  sorrow,  however,  give  new  force  to 
the  meaning  of  our  festival?  The  Guardian  of 
Israel  slumbereth  not  nor  sleepeth !  Though  the  dark 
ness  of  Russia  seem  impenetrable,  it  shall  give  way 
as  the  darkness  "  in  the  beginning,"  before  the  crea 
tive  word.  V'ha-aretz  hay'tah  tohu  va-bohu — truly 
in  that  land  is  there  a  seething  confusion;  but  ruah 
Elohim  m'rahefeth  'al  p9ne  ha-mayim,  the  spirit  of 
God  is  brooding  over  the  face  of  the  waters.  How 
beautiful  the  imagery  of  the  poet  of  old — divine  love 
brooding!  Brooding  to  bring  forth  light  and  life, 
order  and  law,  and  the  knowledge  of  God  that  shall 
forever  banish  darkness  and  evil.  Brooding  over  the 
waters!  Is  there  not  prophecy  in  the  phrase?  Over 
the  waters  passed  the  pillar  of  fire  leading  Moses  and 
the  hosts  of  God  out  of  Egyptian  darkness.  Over 
the  waters  went  Columbus  to  find  a  refuge  for  all  that 
were  oppressed  and  persecuted.  Over  the  waters  came 
the  St.  Catarina  from  the  bigotry  of  New  Portu 
gal  to  the  freedom  of  New  Holland.  Over  the  waters 
will  He  that  hath  made  land  and  sea,  who  prepareth 
a  way  in  the  ocean  and  a  path  amid  the  billows,  guide 
to  a  place  of  safe-abiding  his  faithful  ones,  out  of  the 
[109] 


land  of  Magog,  yea,  out  of  Rosh,  Meshech,  and 
Tubal! 

History  is  the  working  of  the  divine  within  man 
toward  self-realization.  Its  parallels  are  significant, 
are  inevitable,  are  complete.  Mene,  Mene,  Tekel 
Upharsin.  The  doom  of  Babylon  is  fulfilled  of  all  op 
pressors.  From  Latin,  as  from  Chaldean,  was  empire 
torn ;  but  all  the  countries  and  all  the  races  that  had 
acknowledged  the  sway  of  the  conquerors,  to-day  build 
temples  for  the  worship  of  Israel's  unchanging  God. 
The  glory  is  departed  from  Spain,  but  in  the  lands 
spared  or  delivered  from  her  grasp,  the  sons  of  her 
exiles  still  study  the  olden  Law,  still  teach  the  ever 
lasting  truths.  And  now  our  eyes  shall  see  the  judg 
ment  of  God,  even  as  our  ears  have  heard  it.  The  end 
hath  come  of  the  mighty  tyranny  that  rose  up  to  do 
evil  in  the  barbarian  North.  The  oppressor  shall  be 
humbled,  but  the  peoples  redeemed  from  Tsaroth1 
shall  rejoice! 

We  have  not  gathered  to  celebrate  the  passage  of 
slothful  years;  neither  have  we  assembled  to  vaunt 
the  achievements  of  our  fathers  in  this  land.  Some 
one  has  said  that  "  the  reward  of  well  doing  is  the 
obligation  to  do  better."  But  it  was  Abraham  Lin 
coln  who,  in  his  immortal  speech  at  Gettysburg,  best 
phrased  the  thought  that  should  be  uppermost  in  our 
minds  to-night.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  here  to  be 
dedicated  to  the  unfinished  work  of  the  fathers  of  the 
republic,  of  the  patriarchs  of  Israel.  It  is  for  us  to 

1The  Biblical-Hebrew  word  "i¥  (Tsar)  means  cruel  oppressor. 
Its  identity  with  the  title  of  the  "  Autocrat  of  all  the  Russias  "  is, 
philologically,  merely  a  coincidence. 

[110] 


take  from  the  memories  of  the  occasion,  increased  de 
votion  to  the  great  cause  for  which  so  many  of  our 
race  have  given  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion.  It 
is  for  us  highly  to  resolve  that  our  fathers'  steadfast 
ness  in  life,  our  brothers'  faithfulness  unto  death, 
shall  not  have  been  in  vain.  Unworthy  shall  we  prove 
of  the  blood  of  prophets  and  martyrs,  unworthy  of 
the  kinship  of  state  builders,  if  the  future  of  our 
country  and  of  our  race  shall  not  be  the  nobler  and 
the  brighter,  if  freedom  shall  not  be  more  fully  estab 
lished  and  brotherhood  more  firmly  welded  throughout 
the  world,  because  of  our  present-day  work  as  Ameri 
cans,  because  of  our  present-day  lives  as  Jews. 

Vain  is  the  recounting  of  the  great  deeds  and  great 
thoughts  and  great  strivings  of  the  past,  if  it  fail  to 
impress  us  with  the  deep  significance  of  human  his 
tory  as  a  divine  adventure — an  adventure  whereof 
every  human  being  is  at  once  part  and  partaker. 

Behold  the  thought  of  God  take  shape  in  energy 
and  in  matter,  in  elemental  atoms,  in  nebulas,  in 
worlds.  Through  the  deep  that  covers  earth  as  with 
a  garment,  see,  with  the  psalmist,  the  hills,  the  conti 
nents  arise  and  the  waters  go  down  into  the  ocean- 
valleys.  Look  upon  the  teeming  life  of  the  seas,  the 
living  mantle  of  the  fields,  the  creeping  and  the  flying 
things,  infinitesimal  cell  and  great  leviathan,  the  fruit 
ing  trees,  the  nesting  birds,  the  four-footed  beasts, 
and — crown  and  consummation  of  all — man  that  goeth 
forth  with  the  sun  to  his  labor  until  the  evening. 

For  if  the  majesty  of  the  world  about  us  impress 
the  mind  with  wondering  awe,  how  deep  the  sense  of 
reverence  and  mystery  when  the  soul  turns  its  gaze 

cm] 


upon  mankind!  So  little  is  man,  and  yet  so  great! 
His  habitation,  but  a  point  in  the  immensity  of  space ; 
his  years,  an  unregarded  moment  in  eternity;  his 
power,  as  nothing  in  the  face  of  the  mighty  forces 
of  the  universe.  Yet  from  this  point  in  space,  he  has 
sent  his  vision  forth  to  search  infinity ;  in  these  unre 
garded  years  he  has  grappled  with  the  mysteries  of 
existence;  and  though  flood  and  earthquake  and  vol 
cano  have  threatened  to  overwhelm  man  and  all  his 
works  in  indistinguishable  destruction,  his  race  per 
sists  and  his  civilization  goes  on. 

Well  may  Israel's  sweet  singer  exclaim: 

When  I  consider  thy  heavens,  the  work  of  thy  fingers, 
The  moon  and  the  stars  that  thou  hast  ordained. 
What  is  man  that  thou  regardest  him  ? 

And  yet  thou  hast  made  him  but  a  little  less  than  God, 
Thou  hast  given  him  dominion  over  the  works  of  thy 
hands ! 

Contemporary  civilization  glories  chiefly  in  its  con 
quest  of  external  nature;  but  greatest  of  all  human 
achievements  is  man's  conquest  of  himself.  This  idea, 
elaborated  variously  in  law  and  in  legend,  in  poesy 
and  in  prophecy,  is  the  Hebraic  contribution  to  world- 
progress.  Jacob,  wrestling  with  the  angel,  becomes 
Israel.  "  Greater  is  he  that  ruleth  his  spirit  than  he 
that  taketh  a  city." 

Over  the  works  of  His  hands,  God  has  indeed  given 
man  dominion,  but  he  that  is  "  but  a  little  less  than 
God  "  must  achieve  dominion  over  his  own  character 
and  destiny.  Thus  does  the  breath  of  God  which 
transformed  the  creature  of  dust  into  a  living  soul — 

[  11*  ] 


a  soul  that  could  become  "  even  as  God,  to  distinguish 
between  good  and  evil " — realize  itself  ever  more  and 
more  fully.  To  this  end  do  men  think  and  strive 
and  suffer.  To  this  end  do  nations  clash  and  ideas 
contend.  To  this  end  is  Israel's  world-wide,  age-long 
martyrdom.  In  dim  apprehension  of  the  truth  have 
men  won  and  cherished  freedom.  In  knowledge  of  the 
truth  must  we  seek  ever  to  enlarge  the  freedom  of 
nations  and  of  individuals.  So  that  the  individual 
may  find  free  scope  to  develop  to  the  utmost  his  God 
like  faculties,  so  that  all  and  each  may  preserve  an 
equal  freedom,  nations  must  be  governed  by  just  laws. 
Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  men  had  begun  in 
Europe  and  in  America  to  learn  this  lesson  from  the 
Jews'  Bible.  It  was  written  large  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  and  the  history  of  the  United  States 
is  the  history  of  its  modern  development.  In  this 
development  Jews  have  aided,  and  Jews  must  continue 
to  aid. 

Two  conflicting  views  of  the  duty  of  man  in  up 
holding  the  truth  are  found  in  Hebrew  history,  in 
prophecy  and  in  psalmody.  Both  have  profoundly 
influenced  American  history  to  the  establishment  of 
justice.  One  inspired  the  Puritan;  the  other  is  the 
guide  of  the  Quaker.  Cromwell's  maxim,  "  Trust  in 
God  and  keep  your  powder  dry,"  echoes  the  Psalmist's 
description  of  the  saints  militant,  the  Maccabean 
heroes  with  "  God's  high  praises  in  their  mouths,  and  a 
two-edged  sword  in  their  hands."  But  Penn,  true  fol 
lower  of  Fox,  quoted  rather  from  Micah  and  Isaiah 
and  hoped  to  hasten  the  time  when  men  "  shall  beat 
their  swords  into  plowshares  and  their  spears  into 
[113] 


pruning  hooks."  Despite  recent  sad  events,  that  time 
is  measurably  nearer. 

Man's  conquest  of  himself,  the  true  Jewish  ideal, 
necessitates  peace  as  the  foundation  of  moral  prog 
ress.  This  thought  came  into  concrete  political  ex 
pression  in  the  commonwealth  of  the  Friends,  and 
Jews  early  found  within  its  borders  a  congenial  home. 
They  were  also  sympathetically  attracted  to  the  set 
tlements  of  the  German  sectarians  in  Pennsylvania, 
whom  Whittier,  indeed,  calls  German  Quakers,  and 
some  of  whom,  going  still  further  than  the  Society 
of  Friends  in  the  return  to  Biblical  teachings,  observed 
the  seventh-day  Sabbath  and  abstained  from  forbid 
den  food.  The  reciprocal  influences  of  Pennsylvania's 
German  communities  upon  the  Jews,  and  of  the  Jews 
upon  the  German  Christian  sects,  and  the  work  of 
both  together  in  giving  to  Pennsylvania  her  leader 
ship  among  the  colonies  and  States,  offer  to  the  his 
torical  student  a  fascinating  field  for  original  re 
search. 

There  were  Jews  in  the  Valley  of  the  Delaware, 
however,  a  generation  before  Penn  arrived;  probably 
before  1655,  although  1657  seems  the  earliest  date 
established  by  distinct  records,  and  the  names  of  the 
pioneers  have  been  lost.  The  first  name  of  a  Jewish 
settler  in  Pennsylvania  to  be  preserved  is  that  of 
Jonas  Aaron,  who  flourished  about  1703 ;  after  that 
we  find  many  names  recorded;  some  among  them  be 
ing  those  of  founders  of  settlements  that  are  now 
flourishing  towns ;  and  some  being  still  borne  by  hon 
ored  citizens  of  the  commonwealth.  It  is  unnecessary, 
however,  now  and  here  to  enter  into  particulars  con- 
[114] 


cerning  the  personal  and  public  activities  of  the  Jew 
ish  citizens  of  Pennsylvania.  The  monographs  of 
Rosenbach  and  of  Morais,  the  publications  of  the 
American  Jewish  Historical  Society,  various  articles 
in  the  "  Jewish  Encyclopedia,"  and  many  recent  pa 
pers  in  the  daily  journals  have  treated  these  subjects 
as  fully  as  the  data  permit.  They  give  a  goodly  list 
of  Jews  who  took  part  in  building  up  the  colony  and 
in  achieving  the  liberty  of  the  State  and  of  the  United 
States;  who  worthily  and  loyally  filled  responsible 
judicial  and  administrative  positions  as  subjects  of 
the  British  Crown,  and  who  aided  by  voice,  by  pen, 
by  sword,  and  by  purse,  to  wrest  from  that  Crown  the 
power  it  had  abused,  when,  in  the  course  of  human 
events,  the  time  for  independence  had  arrived. 

It  is  not,  however,  upon  the  work  of  a  few  leaders 
in  any  day  or  generation  that  the  welfare  of  the  com 
munity  depends,  nor  can  we  estimate  by  this  alone  the 
value  of  the  contribution  that  any  section  of  the  com 
munity  makes  to  the  general  weal.  It  is  by  the  labors 
of  the  unnoted  hundreds  and  thousands  that  mankind 
achieves  its  large  results.  Bone  of  the  republic's  bone, 
flesh  of  its  flesh,  are  we.  Not  only  in  colonial  and  revo 
lutionary  times,  not  only  in  periods  of  stress  and  strife, 
but  at  every  moment  of  the  national  life,  we  have 
shared,  we  shall  continue  to  share  to  the  full,  in  all 
the  high  endeavors  of  citizenship  and  of  civilization. 
Men  and  women  of  our  race  and  our  religion  have 
contributed  to  our  country's  art,  its  letters,  and  its 
science,  its  works  of  education  and  of  benevolence,  its 
commerce,  its  industry  and  its  finance,  its  jurispru 
dence  and  its  statesmanship.  They  have  labored  to 
[115] 


strengthen  its  faith  in  itself  and  in  humanity,  and  to 
enlarge  its  realization  that  God's  hand  is  over  the 
nations.  They  have  helped  to  keep  alive  its  simple 
reverence  for  the  moral  law  and  the  homely  virtues. 
They  have  striven  to  make  enduring  the  virtue,  the 
liberty,  and  the  independence  of  the  city,  the  com 
monwealth,  and  the  Union;  to  preserve  for  future 
generations  the  Hebraic,  the  American  ideals  of  free 
dom,  justice,  and  equality ;  to  establish  as  the  aim  of 
all  Americans,  in  all  life's  relations,  the  Jew's,  the 
Friend's,  ideal  of  peace. 

But  if  the  Jews  have  given  much  to  America, 
America  has  also  given  much  to  the  Jews.  It  is  not 
only  that  to  us,  as  to  all  other  citizens,  belong  free 
dom  and  opportunity,  and  whoso  chooses  may  live 
in  peace  as  a  member  of  the  ancient  church,  that 
the  community  may  establish  its  houses  of  worship 
and  of  study  by  right  and  not  by  toleration.  It  is 
not  only  that  the  moral  and  political  power  of  the 
Federal  Government  has  more  than  once  been  brought 
to  bear  in  behalf  of  our  oppressed  brethren  in  the 
East.  Apart  from  all  this,  the  United  States  has  ex 
erted  a  tremendous  and  benevolent  influence  upon  the 
history  of  Jews  and  Judaism.  Shalmaneser  and 
Sennacherib,  Nebuchadrezzar  and  Titus,  scattered 
the  tribes  of  Israel;  Columbus  and  Penn,  Williams 
and  Jefferson,  have  reunited  them. 

Dispersed  in  many  lands,  among  many  races;  now 
honored,  now  degraded ;  now  free  and  prosperous,  now 
enslaved  and  persecuted ;  now  leading  the  van  of  phi 
losophy  and  science,  now  shut  out  from  the  sources  of 
knowledge — their  development,  physical,  mental,  and 
[116] 


moral,  has  too  often  been  thwarted  or  perverted.  It 
has  been  influenced  by  a  changing  environment  of 
nature,  men  and  events,  now  helpfully,  now  harm 
fully, — often  in  a  manner  alien  to  the  genius  of 
Judaism. 

America  has  been  a  meeting  place  for  Jews  repre 
sentative  of  all  the  countries  and  customs  of  the  dis 
persion.  Thus  it  has  given  opportunity  for  fusion 
and  recasting  of  the  Jewish  character.  Local  preju 
dices  and  un-Jewish  accretions  are  in  process  of  re 
moval  by  attrition ;  essentials  are  becoming  clearer  to 
perception;  and  from  the  mingling  of  various  ele 
ments  will  emerge  a  type  better  than  anyone  of  its 
components — perhaps  more  nearly  resembling  the 
best  in  ancient  Israel.  To  this  type,  each  section  of 
the  house  of  Israel  has  made  some  worthy  contribu 
tion. 

The  Sephardic  congregations  have,  perhaps  better 
than  all  others,  realized  in  Jewish  communal  life  that 
which  the  artist  terms  "  values."  Less  eager  to  ex 
change  old  lamps  for  new,  they  have  jealously  pre 
served  in  home  and  in  synagogue  the  beautiful  cus 
toms  and  rites  of  ancient  worship,  the  lofty  ideals  of 
ancient  culture.  The  German  communities  added 
strength  and  enterprise,  a  better  ability  to  face  the 
facts  of  life,  and,  on  the  intellectual  side,  a  more 
accurate  scholarship.  The  Russian  brings  a  new 
stream  of  traditional  knowledge;  and  the  avid  intel 
lect,  so  long  starved  or  forced  to  feed  upon  itself,  ex 
hibits  a  pathetic  hunger  for  universal  learning,  an 
insatiate  thirst  for  every  betterment.  Surely  Israel 
in  America  will  become  stronger  and  wiser  and  more 
[117] 


faithful  as  the  German  vigor,  breadth,  learning,  and 
practicality,  the  Russian  idealism,  enthusiasm,  and 
capacity  for  spiritual  development,  are  fused  with  the 
loyalty,  steadfastness,  Jewish  pride,  simple  dignity, 
and  intelligent  regard  for  olden  things,  that  have 
characterized  the  Sephardim. 

Time  will  be  needed  for  the  complete  accomplish 
ment  of  this  fusion,  but  its  beginnings  are  visible. 
Meanwhile  the  Russian  element  in  American  Jewry 
is  already  the  most  numerous;  soon  it  must  become 
dominant.  Does  the  new  generation,  do  the  sons  and 
grandsons  of  the  immigrants  of  twenty-five  years 
past,  realize  the  tremendous  responsibility  that  this 
involves?  Jewish  ideals  and  traditions,  the  citizen 
ship  loyally  and  honorably  fulfilled,  the  faith  pre 
served  amid  trials  and  vicissitudes,  the  learning  ever 
cherished,  are  theirs  to  maintain  and  to  advance. 
May  not  the  representatives  of  the  elder  days  turn  to 
the  heirs  of  the  future  and  say :  All  this  we  give  into 
your  keeping — see  that  ye  keep  it  well ! 

But  after  all,  the  Jews  of  America  will  ever  be 
only  a  fraction,  a  small  fragment,  of  the  Jews  of  the 
world.  To-day,  the  great  mass  are  living  under  op 
pressive  and  anxious  conditions  in  Russia.  The  dawn 
of  their  country's  freedom,  so  long  hoped  for,  so 
loyally  wrought  for,  has  brought  them  but  bitter  dis 
appointment  and  new  misery ;  and  who  can  say  what 
the  future  of  monarchy  or  of  republic  in  that  dis 
tressed  land,  my  hold  of  good  or  evil?  Present  and 
future  are  alike  filled  with  dread.  For  all  the  suffer 
ing  tribes  and  nations  and  classes  of  Russia  we  may 
wish  peace  and  liberty ;  but  to  the  Jews  of  Russia  we 
[118] 


owe  a  special  duty.  For  these,  our  brethren,  there 
must  be  found  a  place  to  live,  an  opportunity  to  de 
velop  their  manhood.  Surely  upon  this  fertile  earth, 
there  is  somewhere  an  undeveloped  land  that  waits 
their  coming ;  a  land  which  they  may  subdue  to  agri 
culture  and  herding  and  commerce  and  civilization — • 
and  the  divine  right  of  man ! 

There,  albeit  through  toil  and  suffering,  let  a  new 
state  arise,  upbuilded  by  Jews;  as  by  the  pioneers 
of  centuries  agone,  Puritan,  Cavalier,  Quaker,  Men- 
nonite,  Jew,  were  upbuilded  the  American  colonies,  the 
United  States.  There  shall  they  who  go  forth  from 
oppression  to-day,  found  settlements  upon  the  syna 
gogue  and  the  Bible,  even  as  New  England  and  Penn 
sylvania  were  founded  upon  the  Bible  and  the  meet 
inghouse.  There  active  brain  and  sturdy  arm  shall 
wrestle  with  and  conquer  nature,  while  patient,  stead 
fast,  heart  pursues  its  conquest  over  self.  Nor  shall 
there  be  a  forgetting  of  Zion,  but  rather  a  loyal  prepa 
ration  for  her  days  of  renewed  youth — days  yet  in 
the  hidden  future. 

The  world  is  older  than  when  Columbus  sailed  from 
Palos;  than  when  the  St.  Catarina  entered  Man 
hattan  harbor ;  than  when  Penn  sent  forth  his  colony 
of  Friends.  Conditions  have  changed ;  the  migration 
of  thousands,  the  upbuilding  of  a  new  state  in  a  new 
land,  will  need  greater  encouragement,  more  substan 
tial  assistance.  Let  us  who  have  been  blessed  with 
birth  in  the  United  States  or  with  admittance  to  its 
freedom  and  its  opportunities,  not  fail  our  brothers 
in  assistance  or  in  good  will.  From  our  gathering  to 
night  and  from  the  gatherings  that  are  to  follow,  let 
[119] 


a  message  of  courage  and  of  faith  go  forth  to  them 
that  grieve  in  Meschech  and  lament  in  Kedar.  Let 
it  tell  them  that  our  aid  shall  not  be  the  mere  dole  of 
money  for  passing  needs ;  but  that  it  shall  be  a  per 
sistent  force  seeking  a  permanent  good.  Let  it  tell 
them  that  our  hands  are  indeed  open  to  relieve  their 
great  distress,  but  that  we  shall  not  be  content  to  salve 
our  consciences  with  almsgiving ;  that  we  are  earnestly 
uniting  to  work  for  them  and  with  them  unto  the 
achievement  of  liberty  and  human  rights,  and  that  we 
shall  not  cease  from  our  endeavors  until  a  way  shall 
be  opened  for  their  deliverance  over  the  waters,  into 
a  new  land  of  freedom  and  of  hope. 


[120] 


THE    JEWISH    PILGRIM    FATHERS 
Address  by  REV.  DR.  JOSEPH  KRAUSKOPF 

Is  it  accident  or  is  it  decree  of  Providence  that  the 
two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  landing 
of  Jews  in  the  harbor  of  New  York  should  be  darkened 
by  the  sorrows  that  have  fallen  upon  the  house  of 
Israel?  Much  as  so  auspicious  an  event  in  the  story 
of  the  wandering  Jew  deserves  fitting  commemoration, 
it  is  impossible  for  him  to  rejoice  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  when,  on  the  yonder  side,  in  the  terror- 
ridden  land  of  the  Czar,  hundreds  of  families  have 
been  widowed  and  orphaned,  thousands  of  homes  pil 
laged  and  outraged,  and  hundreds  of  thousands 
placed  in  constant  terror  lest  the  very  next  hour  wit 
ness  a  reenactment  of  the  massacres  of  Odessa  and 
Kishineff.  And,  besides,  it  is  difficult  to  rejoice  in  the 
freedom  that  is  ours,  when  in  yonder  land  of  bondage, 
half  of  the  Jews  of  the  world  are  still  in  slavery,  still 
denied  not  only  citizenship  rights  in  return  for  dis 
charging  their  citizenship  duties,  but  even  their 
human  rights.  In  days  as  rich  in  memories  of  bless 
ings  as  these,  there  seems  to  be  a  special  charge  ad 
dressed  to  us  in  the  question  that  Lowell  asks : 

If  there  breathe  on  earth  a  slave 

Are  ye  truly  free  and  brave? 

If  you  do  not  feel  the  chain 

When  it  works  a  brother's  pain 

Are  ye  not  base  slaves  indeed 

Slaves  unworthy  to  be  freed? 

The    more    we    dwell    upon    the    theme    that    has 
brought  us  together  to-day,  the  less  do  we  see  of  acci- 


dent  in  the  synchronous  happening  of  the  Russian 
atrocities  and  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniver 
sary  of  the  first  settlement  of  Jews  in  the  United 
States,  the  more  clearly  seems  to  stand  out  the  design 
of  God.  He,  who  has  guided  the  destiny  of  Israel 
along  paths  that  have  often  baffled  our  understanding, 
but  that  have  proven  in  the  end  that  His  thoughts 
are  higher  than  our  thoughts,  and  His  ways  better 
than  ours,  may  have  chosen  the  present  time  for  the 
imparting  of  lessons  which  the  world  has  long  had 
need  to  learn,  and  for  the  ripening  of  purposes  for 
which  the  hour  has  come.  Perhaps  it  is  to  draw  Rus 
sia's  attention  to  the  proud  achievement  of  the  Ameri 
can  Jew.  Perhaps  it  is  to  open  her  eyes  to  the  bless 
ings  of  which  she  has  deprived  herself  by  cursing  the 
most  valuable  of  her  citizens.  Perhaps  it  is  to  speed 
her  granting  her  Jewish  subj  ects  the  rights  and  liber 
ties  that  America  has  granted  to  the  Jew,  and  thereby 
enable  him  to  become  the  valuable  factor  in  the  in 
tellectual  and  moral  and  industrial  life  of  Russia 
that  he  has  become  in  the  United  States.  Perhaps  it 
is  to  send  a  ray  of  light  to  illumine  the  gloom  that 
now  compasses  our  brethren  in  the  land  of  their  afflic 
tion,  a  breath  of  hope  to  those  who  now  languish  and 
faint  in  the  slough  of  despond.  Perhaps,  by  drawing 
the  attention  of  the  world  to  the  contrast  between  Rus 
sia  and  the  United  States,  and  between  the  difference 
of  treatment  accorded  to  the  Jew  in  these  respective 
countries,  its  design  is  to  emphasize  anew  the  prophecy 
of  old :  "  cursed  are  they  that  curse  the  Jew,  and 
blessed  they  that  bless  him." 

Blessed  has  been  the  lot  of  the  Jew  in  the  United 


States,  and  blessed  have  been  the  United  States  in 
blessing  him.  It  is  a  marvelous  story,  that  of  the  set 
tling  of  the  Jew  on  the  Western  continent,  and  the 
more  we  read  and  study  it,  the  stronger  grows  the  be 
lief  that  it  was  the  hand  of  Providence  that  opened 
for  Columbus  and  for  the  Jews  accompanying  him 
the  portals  of  the  new  world,  to  afford  a  resting  place 
at  last  to  the  "  tribe  of  the  wandering  foot  and  weary 
breast,"  and  a  haven  to  all  others  seeking  shelter  and 
peace. 

Like  a  chapter  of  romance  reads  the  answer  to  the 
question  that  Longfellow  asks  in  the  Jewish  cemetery 
at  Newport, 

How  came  they  here  ?     What  burst  of  Christian  hate 
What  persecution  merciless  and  blind 
Drove  o'er  the  sea — that  desert  desolate — 
These  Ishmaels  and  Hagars  of  mankind  ? 

It  is  at  the  hour  of  dawn,  on  the  morn  of  August 
3,  1492,  that  three  small  caravels  sail  forth  from  the 
Spanish  seaport  town  of  Palos.  Darkness  hovers  over 
the  deep,  even  as  it  hovers  over  the  minds  and  souls 
of  the  temporal  and  spiritual  rulers  of  the  land  of 
Spain.  Back  toward  the  land,  which  they  never  ex 
pect  to  see  again,  look  with  tearful  countenance  nearly 
all  of  the  fourscore  and  ten  sailors  who  have  ventured 
forth  upon  the  perilous  journey.  With  eyes  westward 
turned,  and  at  a  distance  from  the  others,  stands  a 
small  group  of  men.  The  tall,  majestic  form  of  the 
foremost  of  them  is  the  admiral  of  the  little  fleet. 
His  inspired  countenance  reveals  neither  tear  nor  fear. 
He  who  had  conquered  the  opposition  of  sovereigns 
[123] 


and  had  confounded  the  sophistry  of  scholars,  who 
eighteen  years  long  had  patiently  endured  taunt  and 
rebuff,  desertion  of  friends,  and  treachery  of  sup 
porters,  is  now  in  the  very  ecstasy  of  joy.  And  in  the 
fullness  of  hope  is  that  little  band  of  Jews,  near  him. 
One  of  them  is  the  overseer  of  the  crew ;  another  is  the 
interpreter;  another  is  the  physician.  One  of  them 
is  the  first  to  descry  the  almost  despaired  of  Western 
shore.  Another  is  the  first  to  set  foot  upon  it. 

And  the  Jews  at  home,  whose  patronage  and  learn 
ing  had  made  possible  that  most  daring  voyage,  were 
the  first  to  receive  the  account  of  the  epochal  dis 
covery  that  had  been  made.  Neither  Ferdinand  and 
Isabella,  nor  the  grandees  of  state  or  church  in  all 
the  land  of  Spain  had  as  much  at  stake  in  the  suc 
cess  of  that  journey  as  had  the  Jews.  Toward  its 
accomplishment  they  had  liberally  given  of  their 
learning  and  had  amply  spent  of  their  means.  They 
had  helped  to  prove  the  rotundity  of  the  earth  and 
had  drawn  the  charts  of  the  sea.  They  had  made  de 
pendable  the  astrolabe  and  the  compass.  They  had 
equipped  two  of  the  three  caravels. 

Whither  were  they  to  turn  if  this  last  and  only 
hope  were  to  fail  ?  On  the  last  day  of  April  the  edict 
had  been  issued  expelling  three  hundred  thousand 
Jews  from  their  homes  and  native  land.  Thrust  out 
of  Spain  by  the  most  powerful  and  most  catholic 
sovereigns  of  Europe,  what  Christian  country  would 
care  to  receive  them,  what  Christian  potentate  would 
dare  to  tolerate  them?  The  terms  of  grace  expired 
on  the  second  day  of  August — one  of  the  saddest  days 
the  sun  ever  shone  upon.  At  the  dawn  of  the  follow- 


ing  morn,  the  little  fleet  sailed  forth,  destined  to  find 
for  the  homeless  wanderer  a  haven  of  rest  more 
blessed  than  any  he  had  enjoyed  since  the  days  he  had 
sat  under  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree  in  the  land  of 
Palestine. 

Doubt  it,  ye  of  little  faith!  As  for  me,  I  see  as 
clearly  the  hand  of  compelling  fate  in  Isabella's  sign 
ing  the  order  for  Columbus's  voyage  of  discovery  on 
the  very  day  she  signed  the  expulsion  edict  of  the  Jew, 
as  I  see  the  hand  of  Providence  manifest  in  the  afflic 
tions  that,  in  our  days,  have  come  upon  the  house  of 
the  Romanoffs  and  upon  the  Russians  for  the  afflic 
tions  they  have  brought  upon  the  house  of  Israel. 

The  new  world  was  taken  possession  of  in  the  name 
of  the  sovereigns  of  Spain.  With  the  exception  of 
Jewish  refugees  and  maranos,  who  came  in  search  of 
home  and  liberty,  the  first  settlers  were  largely  ad 
venturers,  who  came  in  search  of  gold.  With  them 
came  men  of  the  church,  equally  lusting  for  gold  and 
equally  thirsting  for  blood,  the  two  chief  curses  of 
the  church  of  the  middle  ages.  Soon  the  inquisition 
with  all  its  horrors  made  its  appearance  in  South 
America,  where  the  first  settlements  had  taken  place, 
and  it  was  not  long  before  even  in  the  new  world  the 
Jew  had  to  taste  of  Spanish  and  Portuguese  cruelty, 
for  the  sin  of  having  inaugurated  and  developed  many 
of  the  most  important  industries  of  the  colonies,  and 
for  having  reaped  the  just  reward  of  his  intelligent 
and  thrifty  toil.  A  century  long  these  persecutions 
endured  with  greater  or  lesser  severity,  until  it  almost 
seemed  as  if  the  curse  of  the  old  world  would  ulti 
mately  whelm  the  Jews  in  the  new. 
[125] 


But  Providence  had  already  passed  sentence  upon 
Spanish  rule  in  the  new  world.  Naught  was  to  be  the 
harvest  of  all  the  bloodshed  and  cruelty  with  which 
she  had  sown  and  polluted  the  Western  Hemisphere. 
Every  blessing  was  to  turn  into  blight,  every  strength 
into  weakness,  every  gain  into  loss.  She,  the  proudest 
mistress  of  Europe,  was  to  become  the  humblest  of  all ; 
she,  the  mistress  of  a  whole  continent,  was  not  to  retain 
an  inch  of  all  its  soil. 

And  in  the  northern  part  of  this  same  new  world 
there  was  about  to  loom  into  sight  a  new  era  in  the 
history  of  man,  the  brightest  the  world  had  yet  wit 
nessed;  there  was  about  to  dawn  a  new  conception  of 
right  and  liberty,  the  best  the  world  had  yet  enjoyed. 

In  1614  the  Dutch  landed  at  New  York,  or  New 
Amsterdam,  as  it  was  then  called.  In  1620  the  Pil 
grim  Fathers  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock.  Hither 
came  the  latter,  braving  in  a  frail  vessel  the  dangers 
of  a  wild  and  untried  ocean,  for  the  privilege  of 
worshiping  God  in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of 
their  own  conscience.  And  hither  came  the  former 
from  the  Netherlands,  pledged  to  liberty  of  conscience, 
remembering  the  sufferings  they  and  their  fathers  had 
endured  under  Spanish  subjugation.  The  Jews  knew 
of  the  hospitable  treatment  which  had  been  accorded 
their  brethren  in  Holland,  after  it  had  thrown  off  the 
Spanish  yoke,  and  so,  leaving  the  inhospitable  lands 
of  the  southern  continent,  they  sailed  northward,  and 
arrived  in  the  year  1655  in  New  Amsterdam. 

Oh,  that  we  might  hold  forever  sacred,  alongside 
the  Mayflower,  the  name  of  the  little  ship  St.  Catarina 
that  landed  the  first  Jewish  colony  in  the  harbor  of 
[126] 


New  York!  Oh,  that  we  might  hold  forever  sacred, 
alongside  the  dates  1620  and  1614,  the  date  1655, 
the  year  in  which  one  of  the  proudest  and  happiest 
chapters  in  the  long  and  tragic  history  of  Israel  was 
opened !  Oh,  that  we  Jews  might  assemble  annually, 
as  do  the  descendants  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  and  of 
the  Knickerbockers,  to  do  honor  to  our  brave  sires, 
who,  in  the  year  1655,  only  thirty  years  after  the 
landing  of  the  one,  and  forty-one  years  after  the 
settling  of  the  other,  helped  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
the  greatest  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Elimi 
nate  these  three  dates  and  there  are  few  other  dates  in 
our  history  worth  remembering.  Without  these  dates, 
that  proudest  date  of  ours,  1776,  would  never  have 
been  written  large  on  the  pages  of  our  history. 
Within  the  cabins  of  the  Mayflower  and  the  St. 
Catarina  were  those  principles  conceived  that  gave 
birth  to  the  battle  cry  of  1776.  From  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  fleeing  their  English  persecutors,  from  the 
Dutch,  fresh  from  having  overthrown  the  tyranny  of 
bigoted  Spain,  from  the  Jew  fleeing  the  cruelty  of 
the  South  American  Spaniard  and  Portuguese,  have 
sprung  these  free  and  independent,  these  liberty- 
loving  and  liberty-bestowing  United  States.  Their 
yearning  for  religious  and  political  liberty  dictated 
our  Declaration  of  Independence,  drafted  our  Con 
stitution,  severed  the  church  from  the  state,  cast  into 
our  liberty  bell  the  words  of  our  Bible :  "  Proclaim 
liberty  throughout  the  land,  unto  all  the  inhabitants 
thereof." 

Significant  as  is  the  part  the  Jew  has  had  in  the 
founding  of  the  nation,  yet  more  significant  is  the  aid 

[187] 


he  rendered  in  its  development.  The  handful  of  Jews 
of  the  year  1655  has  grown  to  over  one  million  in 
1905,  and  of  all  the  immigrants  of  this  nation  of 
immigrants,  none — to  cite  the  words  of  our  late  sec 
retary  of  state,  the  lamented  John  Hay — none  has 
proven  himself  more  worthy  of  American  citizenship 
than  he.  Scarcely  had  he  settled  at  New  Amsterdam, 
when  he  voluntarily  asked  to  be  permitted  to  render 
military  service  alongside  the  other  burghers.  From 
the  first  he  recognized  that  the  sharing  of  communal 
privileges  involved  the  necessity  of  sharing  communal 
duties.  Well  may  our  heart  swell  with  pride  as  we 
follow  the  record  of  the  Jew  in  the  War  of  Independ 
ence.  Look  over  the  roll  of  honor  containing  the 
names  of  those  who  signed  the  Non-Importation 
Agreement,  and  count  the  score  of  Jewish  names. 
Read  the  names  of  those  who  shed  their  heart's  blood 
on  the  battlefields  fighting  for  their  country's  liberty, 
and  you  read  the  names  of  scores  of  Jews.  Read  the 
names  of  those  who  poured  forth  their  treasures  and 
their  all  to  enable  the  colonies  to  carry  on  their  war 
for  independence,  and  among  the  most  generous  and 
most  self-sacrificing,  stand  the  names  of  scores  of 
Jewish  patriots.  Read  the  name  of  the  lieutenant  of 
Benedict  Arnold,  and  note  that  while  the  general  is 
found  guilty  of  foul  treason,  the  lieutenant  is  in 
trusted  with  special  dispatches  to  Franklin  at  the 
court  of  France — and  that  lieutenant  is  a  Jew.  Read 
the  names  of  the  patriots  who  made  possible  the  rear 
ing  of  the  proud  monument  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  you 
find  one  of  the  two  givers  of  princely  sums  a  Jew. 
And  reading  the  story  of  the  Jew's  patriotism  in 
[  128] 


the  War  of  Independence,  you  read  at  the  same  time 
his  story  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  in  the  Mexican 
and  Civil  and  Cuban  Wars,  in  everyone  of  which  he 
performed  deeds  of  valor  and  patriotism  that  estab 
lished,  beyond  cavil  and  question,  that  of  all  citizens, 
none  can  better  love  and  better  cherish  than  the  Jew 
these  United  States,  the  first  country,  since  the  days 
of  Palestine,  that  he  was  permitted  to  call  his  own. 

But  successful  wars  against  tyranny  and  slavery 
are  not  the  only  sources  of  a  people's  greatness. 
Many  a  nation  has  found  its  grave  in  its  excess  of  vic 
tories;  many  a  hero  his  fall  in  not  knowing  the  vic 
tories  of  peace.  It  is  in  the  use  that  a  country  makes 
of  its  periods  of  peace,  it  is  in  its  fitness  to  develop 
its  resources  when  the  battle  flag  is  furled,  wherein 
lies  the  secret  of  its  life  and  vigor,  the  elixir  of  its 
healthy  growth. 

And  in  this  the  United  States  has  no  peer  in  the 
family  of  nations.  And  toward  that  preeminence  no 
people  has  contributed  more  than  the  Jew.  Whether 
studied  in  the  industries  or  in  commerce,  in  the  arts 
or  sciences,  in  public  office  or  in  private  life,  the  Jew 
has  written  a  marvelous  story  of  achievement,  has 
reared  a  monument  to  his  intellect  and  enterprise  and 
integrity  upon  which  other  nations,  more  especially 
Russia,  may  well  look,  and  on  which  they  may  well 
reflect. 

And  of  this  monument  the  United  States  itself  is 
as  proud  as  it  is  of  the  loftiest  granite  shaft  that 
kisses  the  blue  empyrean,  as  proud  as  was  Washing 
ton,  when,  in  answer  to  the  address  of  welcome,  pre 
sented  by  the  Jews  of  Newport,  he  said :  "  The  citi- 
[129] 


zens  of  the  United  States  of  America  have  a  right  to 
applaud  themselves  for  having  given  to  mankind  ex 
amples  of  an  enlarged  and  liberal  policy,  a  policy 
worthy  of  imitation;" 

And  Washington's  hope  will  yet  be  realized. 
Profiting  by  the  blessed  experience  of  the  United 
States  and  listening  to  its  stirring  entreaties,  other 
nations  will  yet  be  moved  to  adopt  the  liberal  policy 
it  adopted  from  the  first,  and  from  which  it  has  not 
departed  to  this  day. 

And  once  other  nations  shall  treat  the  Jew  as  he  is 
treated  here,  once  other  nations  shall  relieve  the 
American  Jew  of  the  terrible  burden  he  has  been 
forced  to  bear  in  caring  and  providing  for  the  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  of  brethren  fleeing  to  these  shores, 
once  the  Jews  of  other  countries  shall  be  permitted  to 
live  in  peace  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  inalienable 
rights, — the  genius  of  the  American  Jew  will  burst 
forth  in  a  splendor  that  will  surpass  all  that  it  has 
hitherto  achieved.  All  his  intellect  and  skill  of  four 
thousand  years  of  cultivation  in  the  hard  school  of 
trial  and  tribulation,  all  his  hopes  and  all  his  ambi 
tions,  he  will  lay  at  the  feet  of  the  United  States  as 
a  thanks-offering  for  its  having  respected  his  man 
hood  when  all  other  nations  spurned  him,  for  its  hav 
ing  honored  his  citizenship  rights  when  all  other 
nations  cast  him  out,  for  its  having  afforded  him  the 
opportunity  to  show  that,  in  loyalty  to  his  flag,  in 
patriotism  to  his  country,  in  devotion  to  his  fellow- 
citizens,  the  Jew  is  inferior  to  none,  is  the  peer  of  all. 


[ISO] 


ROOM   FOR  ALL 
Address  by  REV.  DR.  K.  KOHLER 

The  weekly  portion  of  this  Sabbath  afternoon  tells 
a  story  of  patriarchal  times  which  contains  both  the 
history  of  the  world  and  the  history  of  the  Jew,  as  it 
were,  in  a  nutshell :  Isaac  had  grown  rich  in  herds  and 
flocks,  and  the  Philistines  envied  him  and  stopped  all 
the  wells  the  servants  of  his  father  had  digged,  and 
Abimalek  said  to  Isaac :  "  Go  from  us,  for  thou  art 
too  mighty  for  us."  Isaac  departed,  and  behold, 
when  his  servants  digged  a  new  well,  the  herdsmen 
strove  with  them  saying  "  this  water  is  ours,"  and 
they  called  the  well  the  "  Water  of  Strife."  And  they 
digged  another  well,  and  the  men  contended  for  that 
also,  and  they  called  it  the  "  Water  of  Contention." 
And  he  moved  still  farther  away,  and  they  strove  no 
longer,  and  they  called  the  well  "  Rehoboth  "  (Room), 
for  they  said :  "  The  Lord  has  made  room  for  us, 
and  we  shall  prosper  in  the  land." 

Is  this  not  the  history  of  man  through  the  cen 
turies?  A  continuous  record  of  strife  and  conten 
tion  !  The  earth  seems  too  small  for  the  nations  and 
empires  as  they  wage  war  against  one  another,  to  en 
rich  themselves  each  at  the  expense  of  the  others,  and 
drive  away  the  owners  of  the  land  they  have  so  long 
inhabited.  Nor  do  the  religious  sects  act  any  better 
toward  one  another.  As  soon  as  they  attain  power 
they  claim  the  monopoly  of  truth  and  salvation  for 
themselves,  while  denying  the  very  right  of  existence 
to  others ;  "  Ours  is  the  spring  of  living  waters,"  they 
say.  And  so  there  is  but  oppression  here  and  perse- 
[131] 


cution  there,  but  nowhere  toleration  and  peace.  This 
was  the  aspect  of  the  world  when  a  new  hemisphere 
was  discovered,  and  a  new  principle  entered  the  life 
of  man.  No  longer  should  the  oppressor's  rod  hold 
nations  and  classes  in  subjection,  nor  religious  fanat 
icism  shackle  the  mind  and  turn  the  earth  into  hell, 
because  men  dared  seek  heaven  along  other  roads  than 
the  church  had  laid  out.  "  Rehoboth  "  was  the  tidings 
of  the  New  World.  Room,  opportunity,  and  liberty 
for  each  struggling  race  and  class  and  sect!  Room 
and  scope  for  all  honest  toil,  opinion,  and  aspiration ! 
Freedom  of  conscience,  freedom  of  worship!  Room 
and  freedom  for  the  oppressed  and  persecuted  of  all 
lands  and  tongues !  This  was  the  watchword  which 
created  a  new  type  of  manhood  and  womanhood,  a 
people  self-reliant  and  self-respecting,  at  once  rising 
to  larger  views  of  life  and  quick  in  advancing  with 
rapid  strides  to  the  fore  of  humanity  in  enterprise  and 
skill,  in  education  and  knowledge.  Yes,  America  has 
become  the  land  of  broad  humanity,  the  hope  of  the 
downtrodden,  the  shelter  of  the  persecuted,  and  its 
broadening,  liberating,  and  humanizing  influence  is 
felt  throughout  the  world.  Yet  who  has  greater  cause 
for  thanksgiving  to-day  than  the  Jew,  the  Pariah  of 
the  nations,  the  Cinderella  among  the  religions,  the 
scapegoat  of  the  raving  mobs,  the  target  of  hatred 
and  contumely  of  the  lands  and  ages,  the  man  of  sor 
row  singled  out  like  the  sheep  for  slaughter?  Here 
at  last  he  has  found  room  and  opportunity,  his  Reho 
both,  rest  and  ease.  Here  his  bent-down  figure, 
weighed  down  with  the  burden  of  shame  and  wretched 
ness,  a  picture  of  misery  of  the  Ghetto,  may  again  rise 
[132] 


to  the  full  stature  of  manhood,  and  in  proud  self-con 
sciousness  vie  with  his  fellow-citizens  in  noble  achieve 
ments  in  all  the  branches  of  industry  and  commerce, 
in  patriotic  and  philanthropic  zeal,  in  social  and  polit 
ical  success,  to  be  recognized  as  the  peer  and  equal  of 
all.  More  than  that,  under  the  inspiration  of  liberty 
he  has  grown  as  broad-minded  and  large-hearted  as 
the  Jew  in  the  brightest  days  of  Spain  ever  was.  In 
deed,  noblesse  oblige  has  become  his  maxim.  He 
has  become  like  Joseph  the  prince  among  his  brethren, 
the  chosen  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Providence  to 
bring  aid  and  salvation  to  a  multitude  of  people.  To 
him  the  Jews  of  the  world  look  for  success  and  encour 
agement.  His  loyalty  and  liberty  have  rendered  him 
the  leader  and  helper  of  his  brethren  abroad. 

While  our  hearts  are  heavy  with  grief  over  the 
tragic  fate  of  our  brethren  in  the  land  of  Russian 
tyranny,  and  our  festive  joy  has  been  turned  into 
mourning  by  the  massacres  perpetrated  by  a  brutal 
ized  mob,  a  thousand  times  more  cruel  than  the  canni 
bals  of  South  Africa,  we  may  yet  find  some  consola 
tion  in  the  proud  satisfaction  that  the  American  Jews 
have  proved  equal  to  the  great  emergency  and  in  less 
than  two  weeks  collected  the  sum  of  a  million  dollars 
for  the  relief  of  their  unfortunate  brethren. 

Still  this  is  but  a  token  of  what  the  American  Jew 
is  destined  to  accomplish  in  the  future,  of  what  Amer 
ican  Judaism  is  bound  to  become  for  the  world  at 
large,  if  we  but  rise  to  the  full  recognition  of  our  great 
mission.  Let  us  not  forget  that  as  long  as  there  is 
strife  and  contention  in  the  world,  the  Jew  will  have 
to  undergo  martyrdom  for  the  cause  of  truth,  for  the 
[133] 


cause  of  righteousness  and  humanity.  At  present  we 
have  been  privileged  to  offer  material  relief  to  our 
suffering  co-religionists.  But  greater  sacrifices  are  de 
manded  from  us,  because  our  opportunities  are  be 
coming  greater.  Greater  will  be  our  obligations  be 
cause  our  responsibilities  will  grow,  as  we  advance  in 
power,  in  numerical  and  in  intellectual  strength.  We 
shall  most  assuredly  do  our  utmost  in  releasing  our 
brethren  from  the  misery  and  scourge  under  which  they 
are  bleeding  and  dying  to-day,  and  endeavor  to  help  as 
many  as  possible  to  find  places  that  offer  safety  and 
peace  to  their  endangered  lives  and  homes.  But  all 
this  will  not  check  the  tide  of  evil  altogether,  nor  re 
move  the  scourge  of  all  the  hatred  and  prejudice 
under  which  the  Jew  has  been  suffering  all  through 
the  centuries.  As  long  as  malicious,  slanderous  pres 
entations  of  the  Jewish  people,  as  if  they  were  a  set  of 
murderers,  hungry  after  innocent  blood,  remain  un 
challenged,  and  their  poison  is  instilled  by  the  Church 
into  the  stupid,  unthinking  masses,  to  fan  their  blood 
thirsty  fanaticism  against  the  Jew,  so  long  will  con 
tention  and  strife  lead  to  persecution  and  expulsion, 
to  Jew-baiting,  and  the  inhumanity  committed 
throughout  the  centuries  in  the  name  of  religion. 
We  need  a  system  of  self-defense  extending  all  over 
the  globe,  yet  not  by  resorting  to  firearms  and  parry 
ing  swords  with  swords,  but  with  the  weapons  of 
truth  against  those  of  falsehood.  Our  cause  is  bound 
to  triumph  in  the  end,  for  ours  is  the  faith  in  human 
ity  and  humanity's  God.  Over  against  all  the  intol 
erance  and  hostility  fostered  by  other  creeds,  our  re 
ligious  teaching  is  "  Rehoboth " — salvation  and 
[134] 


truth  for  all.  Instead  of  suffering  mission  societies 
to  work  for  the  Christianization  of  the  Jew,  let  us 
form  leagues  for  the  purpose  of  humanizing  Christen 
dom.  And  we  need  but  appeal  to  the  intelligence  of 
the  enlightened  ones,  whose  number  is  growing  con 
tinuously,  and  we  shall  have  the  support  and  recog 
nition  of  the  best.  Here  in  the  land  of  Roger  Wil 
liams  and  Jefferson,  the  land  whose  foundation  is 
righteousness  and  justice,  among  a  people  whose  re 
ligion  is  above  all  broad  and  humane,  Judaism  is  given 
the  opportunity  to  work  out  its  great  mission,  and, 
with  the  full  consciousness  of  its  prophetic  calling,  to 
build  up  a  system  of  thought  and  life  large  enough 
and  profound  enough  to  blend  all  that  is  good  and 
true  and  beautiful  in  our  own  culture  with  the  sub 
limities  of  our  ancient  faith,  so  as  to  render  it  a  well 
of  Rehoboth — an  all-encompassing  world-conquering 
truth  for  all  the  nations,  to  join  us,  the  martyr-priests 
and  heralds  of  God,  the  Father  of  all. 

So  may,  out  of  the  great  ordeal  through  which  our 
Eastern  brethren  are  passing,  a  new  Judaism  emerge, 
full  of  hope  and  promise,  both  for  the  Jew  and  for 
humanity  at  large.  And  who  knows  but  that  the  finger 
of  Providence  is  again,  as  in  the  day  when  the  Jews 
left  Spain,  pointing  to  America  as  the  Rehoboth,  the 
land  which  has  room  and  opportunity  and  prosperity 
for  all,  yet  not  in  a  material  state  only,  but  for  the 
realization  of  the  highest  ideals  of  humanity,  the 
building  up  of  an  empire  of  righteousness  and  love 
and  peace  in  which  Israel,  the  prophet  people  of  yore, 
will  have  its  full  share  as  the  seed  of  those  blessed  by 
God,  rooted  in  a  land  replete  with  blessing  for  all 

135 


THE   JEW  AS   A   LIBERAL   FORCE 

From  an  address  by  REV.  DR.  D.  PHILIPSON 

This  is  a  unique  occasion.  That  Jewish  congrega 
tions  should  hold  special  services  in  commemoration 
of  the  landing  of  the  first  Jews  upon  the  blessed  shores 
of  our  beloved  country  is  but  natural  and  in  the  order 
of  things,  but  that  a  non-Jewish  church  organization 
should  devote  one  of  its  regular  services  to  celebrating 
this  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary,  which  looms 
large  at  this  time  upon  the  American  Jewish  horizon, 
is  so  unusual  an  occurrence  even  in  these  better  days 
of  religious  breadth  of  view  in  which  we  are  living, 
that  it  is  of  more  than  passing  interest  and  will  surely 
be  pointed  to  by  some  future  historian  as  an  evidence 
of  that  fine  spirit  of  human  fellowship  that  rises  above 
the  narrow  distinctions  of  creed  and  sect.  As  far  as 
I  know,  or  have  heard,  this  is  the  only  service  of  this 
kind  in  connection  with  our  anniversary;*  without 
doubt  there  are  other  churches  in  this  land  whose 
pastors  and  worshipers  stand  on  a  platform  broad 
enough  to  make  a  service  of  this  kind  possible,  but  it 

*  The  editors  of  this  volume  take  pleasure  in  recording  the  fact  that 
this  service  was  not  the  only  one  of  its  kind.  In  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  for 
example,  the  services  in  the  Unitarian  Church  on  Sunday,  Novem 
ber  26,  1905,  were  of  a  commemoratory  character,  the  lecture  being 
devoted  to  an  account  of  the  Jew  in  America  and  the  "  order  of  serv 
ice"  issued  by  our  Executive  Committee  being  utilized  in  part.  In 
several  instances  besides  this,  the  ministers  of  various  Christian  churches 
chose  as  the  subject  of  their  discourses  on  the  Sunday  before  or  after 
Thanksgiving  Day,  the  relations  of  the  Jew  to  his  Christian  fellow- 
men;  one  of  these  discourses,  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Minot  J.  Savage 
on  "  The  Jew  in  Christendom "  was  thereafter  issued  in  pamphlet 
form. 

[136] 


will  remain  to  the  unique  merit  of  this  congregation 
with  its  wide  outlook,  and  of  its  minister  whose  cos 
mopolitan  humanity  and  humane  cosmopolitanism  are 
so  well  known  in  this  community  that  they,  of  all  the 
non-Jewish  organizations  in  the  country,  had  the 
happy  inspiration  of  furnishing  this  tangible  proof 
of  the  breadth  of  fellowship  they  profess.  I  welcome 
this  gathering  as  an  auspicious  augury  of  the  possi 
bilities  of  the  American  spirit  and  consider  it  a  privi 
lege  to  participate  in  this  service  and  to  speak  from 
this  platform  on  the  significance  of  the  event  now 
being  commemorated  in  the  light  of  Jewish  achieve 
ment  in  the  United  States. 

What  this  home  of  freedom  has  signified  and  signi 
fies  for  the  Jew  is  patent ;  here  he  has  found  a  haven 
of  refuge;  here  he  has  had  the  opportunity  to  de 
velop  his  God-given  powers  without  let  or  hindrance ; 
here  he  has  been  permitted  to  worship  his  God  as  his 
conscience  dictates,  without  fear  of  the  persecutor's 
wrath  or  the  oppressor's  cruelty ;  here  he  has  learned 
to  be  once  again  a  man  among  men,  after  he  had  been 
condemned  to  be  a  Pariah  and  an  outcast  for  cen 
turies  in  European  lands ;  here,  for  the  first  time  since 
the  Roman  arms  conquered  his  ancient  Palestinian 
domicile,  did  he  find  a  land  which  he  could  call  home ; 
yes,  home,  for  this  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniver 
sary  brings  out  in  bold  relief  the  fact  that  the  Jew 
came  hither  less  than  fifty  years  after  the  English 
landed  at  Jamestown,  and  only  thirty-five  years  after 
the  Mayflower  bearing  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  glided 
into  Plymouth  harbor;  here  the  Jew  has  been  en- 
[137] 


abled  to  demonstrate  that  he  is  at  one  with  his 
neighbors  in  all  things  which  make  for  the  realization 
of  American  ideals ;  he  has  fought  in  every  struggle, 
bled  on  every  battle  field,  responded  to  every  call  of 
patriotism  in  peace  and  in  war,  has  been  intensely 
loyal  in  speech  and  in  act — in  a  word  he  is  an  Ameri 
can  of  the  Americans,  a  lover  of  his  city,  State,  and 
country  with  every  fiber  of  his  being;  he  has  shown 
the  world  that,  nationally,  he  is  devoted  with  all  his 
heart,  with  all  his  soul,  and  with  all  his  strength  to 
the  country  of  his  birth  or  adoption,  and  that  only 
in  his  religious  belief  is  he  different  from  his  fellow- 
citizens  of  other  faiths. 

All  these  things  this  latter-day  promised  land  in 
which  we  are  living  has  made  possible  for  the  Jew, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  one  may  claim,  I  believe,  with 
out  laying  himself  open  to  the  charge  of  chauvinism, 
that  the  Jew  has  repaid  all  this  largess  by  a  peculiar 
service  to  the  high  cause  of  liberty  and  liberality  of 
thought  that  this  country  symbolizes.  Very  few,  even 
of  the  limited  number  who  study  the  story  of  Jewish 
endurance  throughout  the  mediaeval  ages  of  oppres 
sion,  appreciate  the  service  of  the  children  of  Israel 
to  the  truth  in  its  largest  conception.  They  were 
a  small  minority  dwelling  in  the  midst  of  powerful 
majorities;  they  had  inherited  a  certain  truth  which 
they  held  sacred ;  for  that  truth  they  were  content  to 
live  and  to  die,  to  suffer  and  to  endure ;  by  this  course 
they  bore  testimony  to  the  power  of  the  spirit  which 
can  rise  superior  to  all  earthly  woe  and  misery ;  as  to 
all  minorities  who  are  willing  to  forego  every  worldly 
advantage  in  their  devotion  to  the  truth  they  hold 
[  138  ] 


dear,  so  to  the  Jews  confined  in  the  Ghettos  of  Europe 
do  all  truth-lovers  and  truth-seekers  owe  an  incal 
culable  debt  of  gratitude ;  and  in  the  final  accounting 
this  aspect  of  the  significance  of  Jewish  persistence 
and  constancy  in  the  face  of  nameless  woes  and  count 
less  ills  will  receive  its  due  and  its  place. 

Continuing  this  line  of  thought  permit  me  to  call 
attention  to  a  somewhat  similar  service  which  the  Jews 
in  the  United  States  have  performed.  This  lies  not 
so  much  on  the  surface,  so  that  he  who  runs  may  read ; 
still  a  little  consideration  will  demonstrate  clearly  that 
the  Jew  has  been  one  of  the  chief  forces  making  for 
the  preservation  of  the  high  aims  and  truths  of  the 
spirit  of  liberalism  in  this  land.  When  this  Govern 
ment  was  founded,  one  of  the  leading  purposes  of 
the  fathers  of  the  republic  was  the  separation  of 
church  and  state.  All  religions  were  to  have  an  equal 
standing  within  the  body  politic.  No  religious  sect 
was  to  be  recognized  in  the  councils  of  the  Govern 
ment.  The  people  of  this  country  are  possibly  in 
the  enjoyment  of  no  greater  boon  than  this,  owing 
to  the  wise  foresight  and  broad  statesmanship  of  the 
men  who  stood  sponsors  at  the  birth  of  this  Govern 
ment.  Those  men  were  students  of  history,  and  the 
history  of  nations  had  shown  them  that  the  union  of 
church  and  state  had  been  the  fruitful  cause  of  more 
persecution,  more  bloodshed,  more  wars,  more  misery 
during  the  so-called  Christian  centuries,  than  any 
other  single  thing ;  therefore,  they  determined  to  keep 
the  two  absolutely  separate  in  the  new  experiment 
of  government  which  they  were  inaugurating.  Dur 
ing  the  century  and  a  quarter  of  the  existence  of  this 
[139] 


Government,  attempts  have  been  made  time  and  again, 
and  are  still  being  constantly  made  by  narrow-minded 
religious  sectarians,  to  undo  this  blessed  work;  Con 
gress  has  been  stormed  with  petitions  to  amend  the 
Constitution  so  as  to  have  this  land  declared  a  Chris 
tian  country;  State  legislatures  have  been,  and  are 
being,  constantly  importuned  for  similar  purposes; 
Protestant  sects  have  worked  with  might  and  main  to 
Protestantize  the  public  schools ;  all  these  efforts  are 
portentous  of  grave  dangers,  and  against  them  those 
who  understand  the  true  meaning  of  liberty  must  ar 
ray  themselves  without  ceasing.  Among  these  liberal 
and  liberalizing  elements  none  has  stood  forth  more 
unequivocally  and  more  constantly  than  the  Jews, 
true  to  their  tradition  of  being  a  protesting  minority. 
From  the  bitter  experience  of  their  fathers  they  know 
the  frightful  results  of  the  unholy  alliance  between 
church  and  state  in  each  and  every  form,  and  they 
would  contribute  their  share  toward  saving  this  people, 
of  which  they  form  an  integral  portion,  from  the 
evils  that  stalk  in  the  wake  of  that  alliance.  What 
the  Jews  and  others,  with  convictions  similar  to  theirs 
on  this  subject,  have  done  in  this  struggle  with  the 
reactionaries  has  contributed  toward  strengthening 
the  foundations  whereon  this  Government  rests  and 
toward  the  deepening  of  the  influence  of  the  princi 
ples  of  true  freedom.  Eternal  vigilance  is  still  the 
price  of  liberty ;  none  appreciates  this  more  than  we 
Jews,  and  we  believe  that  we  can  show  our  apprecia 
tion  of  all  that  this  land  of  the  free  stands  for,  and  all 
that  it  has  meant  and  means  for  us  and  ours  no  more 
fully,  than  by  doing  what  in  our  power  lies  toward 
[140] 


protesting  against  every  narrowing  tendency  in  the 
life  of  this  people  and  this  Government,  and  in  striv 
ing  in  season  and  out  of  season  for  the  broadest,  most 
liberal,  and  most  liberalizing  policy,  so  that  indeed 
"  our  America  shall  be  the  Sinai  of  the  nations  whence 
shall  proceed  the  divine  law  of  liberty  that  shall  sub 
due  and  harmonize  the  world." 


[141] 


THE   PLEDGE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  JEW 
Address  by  JUDGE  JULIAN  W.  MACK 

"  That  they  should  provide  for  and  take  care  of 
their  poor,  and  that  they  should  not  be  a  burden  upon 
the  community,"  was  the  agreement  of  the  first  Jewish 
settlers  who  came  to  this  country  a  quarter  of  a  mil 
lennium  ago. 

How  well  and  faithfully  have  they  and  their  de 
scendants  throughout  this  country  of  ours  fulfilled 
the  condition  then  imposed!  They  have  cared  for 
their  own  poor,  and  though  unconscious  for  many 
years  that  this  was  part  of  the  bargain  under  which 
they  were  permitted  to  settle  in  America,  they  have 
claimed  it,  not  only  as  a  duty,  but  also  as  a  privilege, 
to  care  for  their  own  poor.  This  duty,  prescribed  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  has  become  inbred  in  the 
Jews  of  America ;  and  for  this  reason,  and  this  reason 
only,  do  we  have  our  separate  Jewish  charities.  Those 
of  us  that  are  the  most  liberal,  that  believe  in  the  full 
est  sense  that  charity  should  be  nonsectarian,  still 
claim  that  that  which  was  imposed  upon  us  at  that 
time  shall  now  be  our  right,  as  it  has  been  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  past,  as  it  shall  be  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  to  come. 

Not  that  the  privilege  or  duty  of  caring  for  our 
own  has  ever  marked  the  limits  of  Jewish  charity. 
Jewish  charity  is  synonymous  with  charity  itself.  It 
knows  no  bounds  of  country  or  of  creed ;  and  in  all 
the  tasks  of  our  fellow-countrymen,  public  or  private, 
charitable  or  otherwise,  the  Jew  ever  has  been  and 
[142] 


ever  will  be  an  active  participant.  But  that  we  should 
ever  remember  the  condition  under  which  we  were  per 
mitted  at  that  time  to  find  a  home  in  this  America  is 
self-evident,  and  that  every  Jew  should  feel  it  his  duty 
to  support  to  the  utmost  of  his  ability  those  charities 
that  are  intended  to  carry  out  this  condition,  ought 
to  be  to  him  the  very  first  of  his  obligations.  We  have 
endeavored  faithfully  to  live  up  to  our  responsibilities 
in  this  respect.  We  have  not  always  reached  the  goal 
that  we  were  aiming  at.  If  there  be  among  us  any 
who  to-day  in  this  time  of  rejoicing,  in  this  land 
where  we  have  come  to  our  own,  in  searching  their 
consciences  feel  that  they  have  not  contributed  in  full 
measure  to  the  meeting  of  that  condition  to  which 
we  have  ever  been  pledged,  let  them  resolve  now  that 
the  delinquencies  of  the  past  will  be  made  up  in  the 
future,  that  the  charities  of  the  Jewish  community  of 
Chicago  will  ever  be  supported  by  them  in  the  full 
measure  of  duty-bound  generosity  to  which  they  are 
entitled. 

We  Jews,  however,  have  conceived  this  duty  in  a 
broader  sense.  Children  of  the  Book,  upon  whom  the 
mission  of  liberty  of  religion  has  been  devolved,  we  in 
this  country  have  conceived  as  one  of  the  best  exhibi 
tions  of  our  loyalty  to  our  religious  obligations,  the 
development  of  our  charitable  endeavors.  Not  merely 
must  we  support  our  own  charities,  but  we  must  make 
them  the  best  and  the  noblest  in  the  land,  that  they 
may  continue  to  be,  as  they  have  been,  an  inspiration 
to  our  fellow-citizens,  a  model  for  their  communal 
efforts. 

We  Jews,  however,  have  never  stopped  short  at  the 
[143] 


support  of  our  own.  We  have  recognized  our  duty  as 
citizens  of  our  municipality,  as  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  to  assist  in  every  upward  movement  in  the 
country,  charitable  or  otherwise.  The  Jew  has  ever 
been  in  the  advance  in  every  movement  tending  to  raise 
public  life  to  higher  levels  and  to  better  private  life ; 
no  reform  but  has  had  his  active  assistance.  He  has 
never  been  a  seeker  for  public  office ;  he  has  never  been 
a  Democrat  or  a  Republican  for  the  profit  that  would 
accrue  to  him.  He  has  been  a  party  man  because  of 
his  belief  in  the  principles  of  his  party ;  and  he  has 
been  a  party  man  as  an  American,  not  as  a  Jew.  The 
Hebrew  Democrat  and  the  Hebrew  Republican  is  false 
to  the  principles  of  Judaism,  is  false  to  himself,  when 
he  mingles  his  religion  with  his  politics.  The  Jew 
who  votes  for  a  Jew  because  he  is  a  Jew,  is  derelict 
to  all  that  he  ought  to  hold  highest.  If  he  votes  for 
a  Jew  because  he  knows  the  man  and  believes  him  to 
be  the  better  man  of  the  two,  well  and  good ;  but  let 
no  one  ask  the  Jew  for  his  support  merely  on  the 
ground  that  he  is  a  Jew.  And  let  us  proclaim  in  this 
country  to  all  the  politicians  that  there  is  no  Jewish 
vote,  that  we  are  Jews  in  our  religion,  that  we  are 
Jews  in  caring  for  our  own,  but  that  in  all  else  we 
are  American  citizens — American  citizens  by  our  own 
birthright,  paid  for  by  the  pledge  that  we  made  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago — aye,  even  before  that 
time;  for  it  was  a  Jew  that  gave  to  Columbus  the 
means  to  come  to  this  country;  and  there  were  five 
Jews — a  number  entirely  out  of  proportion  to  the 
Jewish  population  of  Spain — that  accompanied  him 
on  his  voyages  of  discovery.  The  settlement  in  New 
[  144  ] 


York  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  makes  the  Jew 
the  equal  of  the  Pilgrim,  the  Puritans  of  Massachu 
setts,  and  the  Cavaliers  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  in 
claiming  this  country  as  their  own. 

Grateful  are  we  that  a  haven  of  rest  was  found  in 
these  United  States  for  the  Jew.  Grateful  is  the 
Puritan,  himself  persecuted  as  we  were,  that  a  similar 
haven  was  found  for  him  here;  and  grateful  is  the 
Catholic  that  he  too  was  permitted  to  settle  on  these 
shores  when  he  was  driven  by  fanaticism  from 
countries  of  Europe.  Grateful  are  we  all  to  the  Al 
mighty  that  guided  our  steps  hither;  grateful  are 
we  to  our  fellow-countrymen  that  none  of  the  excesses 
of  Europe  has  ever  stained  this  land.  But  beyond 
that,  we  stand  firm  and  upright,  not  cringing  nor 
fawning,  and  not  pleading  for  our  liberty,  but  de 
manding  it  as  our  birthright,  insisting  on  equality 
before  the  law  and  before  men  as  the  inalienable  pre 
rogative  of  American  citizenship.  We  Jews,  settled 
here  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  need  not  bow 
our  heads  in  thanks  to,  need  not  crawl  before  any  man 
in  America.  We  stand  here  the  equal  of  all  of  them, 
with  as  much  right,  purchased  in  the  same  way  by  the 
blood  of  our  ancestors  in  every  war  through  which  this 
country  passed,  as  does  the  descendant  of  the  Puri 
tan  and  the  Cavalier.  The  Jews  of  America  are  true 
American  citizens  in  the  full  sense.  Every  call  of 
their  country  have  they  answered  with  their  treas 
ure  and  their  blood,  and  every  call  the  country  may 
hereafter  make  will  they  answer  in  exactly  the  same 
measure,  to  say  little,  as  their  fellow-citizens. 

There  is  one  problem  confronting  the  people  of  this 
[145] 


country  to-day  in  which  we  as  Jews  have  a  peculiar 
interest.  It  is  the  problem  of  immigration.  We  do 
not  know  what  the  future  holds  out  for  the  Jew  in 
Russia.  Those  of  us  who  are  optimistic  think  that 
the  terrible  calamities  of  the  past  few  months  are  not 
indicative  of  the  future  course  of  that  country.  We 
are  hopeful  that  when  the  Russian  people  truly  come 
to  their  own,  after  the  bloodshed  necessarily  incident 
to  their  revolution,  that  the  Jew  too  will  come  to  his 
own  as  a  Russian  citizen ;  and  if  we  are  right  in  this 
prognosis,  the  immigration  of  the  Russian  Jew  to 
America  will  cease.  But  if  perchance  we  are  wrong, 
and  if  the  terrible  brutalities  of  the  past  months  shall 
be  continued  in  the  future,  we  must  expect  an  immi 
gration  infinitely  larger  than  that  of  1881  or  1891. 
We  Jews  of  America  settled  here  for  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years,  must  be  ready  to  welcome  the  oppressed 
of  Russia.  We  must  unitedly  rise  up  in  this  country 
and  say  to  our  fellow-citizens  that  the  doors  of  the 
United  States,  which  have  been  opened  for  centuries 
to  the  oppressed  of  all  lands,  shall  not  now  be  closed 
to  the  poor  Jews  coming  here,  not  temporarily,  or  as 
a  burden  upon  the  community  at  large,  for  we  our 
selves  shall  bear  this  burden — coming  here  to  found  a 
home,  as  you  and  your  ancestors  came  perhaps  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  perhaps  but  twenty-five 
years  ago.  The  doors  of  the  United  States  shall  never 
be  closed  to  any  decent,  honest  man  coming  here  to 
settle,  to  find  and  to  found  a  home  in  our  country, 
wanting  to  become  an  American  citizen. 

The  danger  is  great  that  all  sorts  of  qualifications 
will  be  suggested  which  will  keep  out  the  brothers  of 
[146] 


the  Russian  Jew,  though  in  twenty-five  years  from 
now  he  will  be  among  the  leading  citizens  of  this  coun 
try,  as  now  his  children  are  among  the  children  in 
our  schools — who  soon  will  be  among  the  first  in  com 
merce  and  in  every  field  of  public  activity.  The  dan 
ger,  I  repeat,  is  great  that  all  sorts  of  qualifications 
will  be  enacted  as  a  prerequisite  to  the  admission  of 
future  immigrants.  It  is  our  duty,  we,  immigrants 
ourselves,  either  in  our  own  persons,  or  in  those  of  our 
sires,  one,  two  or  three  generations  back — aye,  per 
haps  immigrants  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  in 
our  ancestors — to  claim  for  the  oppressed  of  all  lands 
the  right  under  which  we  ourselves  were  permitted  to 
come  here  and  become  American  citizens.  Those 
privileges  should  never  be  denied  to  any  man  because 
of  his  religion,  or  for  any  other  reason,  as  long  as 
our  country  is  able  to  sustain  the  millions  of  new 
comers,  provided  the  immigrant  comes  not  as  a  tem 
porary  guest  but  to  make  his  home,  and  that  of  his 
family  in  this  land,  to  raise  his  children  to  be,  and  to 
become  himself,  honest,  law-abiding,  American  citi 
zens. 


[147] 


THE   CONCORDANCE    OF   JUDAISM   AND 
AMERICANISM 

Address  by  REV.  DR.  E.  G.  HIRSCH 

Where  the  Canadian  Pacific,  that  mighty  miracle 
of  modern  man's  daring  and  doing,  winds  its  ever 
narrowing  embrace  of  steel  arms  around  the  giant 
frame  and  then  the  snow-hooded  brow  of  the  moun 
tain  sentries  mounting  the  guard  over  the  Rockies' 
midcontinental  bastion,  the  wondering  traveler 
wheeled  along  this  imperial  highway's  upward  coil 
in  dramatic  suddenness  is  brought  face  to  face  with 
one  of  the  most  striking  exhibitions  of  Nature's  curi 
ous  capriciousness.  However  much  he  may  have  been 
impressed  with  the  defiant  boldness  that  reckoned  not 
the  menace  of  the  roaring  canyons  over  which  bridge 
and  span  are  thrown  in  proud  unconcern,  or  with  the 
stupendous  assumption  of  security  that  holds  in  con 
tempt  the  perils  of  precipices  along  which  the  road 
bed  skirts  with  tenacious  grit;  when  at  the  great 
divide  he  notices  how  the  chance  interval  of  a  hair's- 
breadth  between  the  peak's  wrinkles  determines  the 
direction  of  the  water  rills  and  the  leaping  cascades, 
he  is  stirred  to  reflection  as  by  no  other  observation. 
Twin  children  of  the  clouds,  cradled  in  one  nursery, 
the  raindrops  are  here  bidden  separate.  One  rushes 
on  to  his  destiny,  meeting  in  his  descent  the  morning's 
sun,  the  other  hastens  to  his  goal  in  the  van  of  the 
evening's  approach.  Spun  on  the  same  loom,  one  sil 
very  ribbon  unwinds  its  broadening  folds  until  they 
are  tangled  in  the  Atlantic's  mightier  nettings;  the 
[148] 


other  unbobbins  its  stretching  lengths  to  festoon  the 
slopes  inclining  toward  the  Pacific.  Though  he  know 
the  law  which  compels  one  of  heaven's  tears  to  seek  its 
grave  in  the  birth  chamber  of  the  day-star,  and  the 
other  to  hasten  to  its  funeral  in  advance  of  the  sink 
ing  sun,  at  the  impressive  recognition  of  the  phenom 
enon  in  the  concrete,  the  observant  witness  is  involun 
tarily  oppressed  by  the  consciousness  that  similar 
"  accidents  "  determine  the  direction  of  men's  grop- 
ings,  and  enforce  divergency  of  paths  leading  to  dif 
ferent  and  widely  separated  destinies. 

But  this  depressing  obsession  soon  yields  to  the  in 
spiring  certainty  that  only  in  the  seeming,  whim  and 
chance  preside  over  the  allotting  of  our  fortune. 
Closer  attention  to  the  intention  which  underlies  Na 
ture's  dividing  decree  soon  will  reveal  that  underneath 
the  superficial  divergence  is  operative  concordance  of 
duty.  Both  waterdrops  that  at  the  line  must  part 
from  each  other,  are  commissioned  to  one  and  the  same 
task.  It  is  theirs  to  coax  forth  flowers,  to  fertilize  field 
and  forest.  Both  are  messengers  and  ministers  of  life. 
And  again  when  they  shall  have  reached  their  re 
spective  goals,  be  it  the  sea  which  laps  the  Eastern 
shores  or  that  which  sings  the  lullaby  to  the  Western 
States,  the  miracle  of  the  resurrection  which  awaits 
them  will  wing  both  alike  to  new  upward  flight  and 
on  the  heights  their  divided  destinies  will  finally  con 
verge.  Seemingly  doomed  to  eternal  separation, 
snowflakes  and  dewdrops  that  part  company  at  the 
divide  are  foreordained  to  identity  of  obligation. 

Thus,  when  closer  analysis  unfolds  this  ethical  pur 
pose,  which,  cloaked  or  clear,  is  always  fundamental 

[149] 


in  the  Universe  and  which  is  never  dissipated  even 
when  the  factoring  process  seems  to  reduce  the  all 
to  incoherent  fragments,  caprice  of  division  is  at  once 
lifted  to  the  potency  of  planned  appointment.  Acci 
dent  under  this  view  takes  on  the  consecration  of  voca 
tion.  Differences  are  blotted  out  in  the  recognition 
that  they  are  means  to  an  end,  and  in  the  prevision  of 
this  end,  divergence  of  paths  sinks  out  of  sight,  while 
identity  of  responsibility,  which  neutralizes  all  vari 
ance  of  direction,  looms  up  large.  Name  the  water 
sheds  which  force  division  and  divergence  upon  men 
what  you  will,  race,  religion,  nationality,  at  the  great 
divide  the  space  which  separates  is  infinitesimal. 
These  channels  through  which  humanity  runs  on  to 
its  goal  are  means  to  a  common  end.  On  all  them  that 
along  these  divergent  paths  apparently  tend  apart  in 
contrary  directions,  one  common  burden  is  imposed. 
Theirs  is  the  equality  of  function  under  the  variety 
and  difference  of  equipment.  Like  the  river  systems 
draining  into  different  oceans,  the  various  and  differ 
ently  endowed  components  of  humanity  are  appointed 
to  fill  earth  with  life,  ever  enriching  and  deepening  and 
broadening.  This  conception  reconciles  diversity 
with  unity.  It  sees  in  the  polychrome  spectrum  only 
unfolding  white  light. 

Little  dower  of  imagination,  I  hold,  is  competent  to 
apply  the  pathos  and  poetry  of  the  watershed's  influ 
ence  upon  the  direction  of  the  raindrop's  ambition,  to 
the  symphonic  theme  of  this  memorial  day's  chorus. 
At  first  hearing,  its  jubilant  notes  seem  to  carry  the 
invitation  to  remember  differences.  It  is  the  landing 
of  Jews  that  it  commemorates.  It  seems  to  emphasize 
[150] 


those  distinctions  that  set  off  the  Jew  from  his  neigh 
bor.  Or,  again,  if  stress  be  laid  on  the  country's  name 
whose  hospitality  these  earliest  immigrants  of  Jew 
ish  origin  claimed,  the  intention  of  our  synagogal 
celebration  may  be  misunderstood,  as  planned  to  throw 
on  the  screen  the  peculiarities  of  American  Israel,  en 
larged  out  of  all  proportion,  and  thus  invigorate  the 
American  Jew's  insistence  upon  being  accorded  a  dis 
tinct  position  of  his  own  in  the  common  household  of 
Israel. 

But  give  this  day's  jubilee  overture  a  second  hear 
ing  !  If  it  be  true — and  it  is — that  man  is  microcos- 
mic  reproduction  of  the  Universe's  macrocosmos,  then 
it  is  equally  beyond  all  doubt  that  in  the  plan  of  God, 
nations  and  peoples  are  called  to  be  microcosmic  illus 
trations  of  the  plan  of  the  macrocosmic  humanity. 
To  the  American  nation  was  assigned  task  and  oppor 
tunity  to  exemplify  essential  unity,  notwithstanding 
the  influence  of  the  various  watersheds  at  which  the 
lines  of  descent  diverge.  Almost  all  the  races  of  the 
planet  have  made  this  land  their  trysting  ground. 
Hither  they  have  brought  the  best  and  strongest  which 
it  was  theirs  to  develop.  Religion  in  this  country,  re- 
enacts  the  Pentacostal  outpouring;  the  flaming 
tongues  that  token  of  the  spirit,  speak  their  message 
in  varied  tones  and  widely  differing  dialects.  Social 
customs,  the  ripples  from  many  distant  sources,  give 
color  and  mobility  to  home  and  exclusive  circles.  Even 
in  press  and  on  the  platform,  in  our  streets  and  vil 
lages,  the  confusion  of  languages  is  documented.  This 
exceeding  abundance  of  variety  constitutes  one  of  the 
secrets  of  this  nation's  nervous  vitality.  Apparent 
[131] 


discordance  results  under  the  consecration  of  patriot 
ism  in  effective  harmony.  True,  this  morning's  festal 
reveille  stirs  to  glad  reflection  only  a  little  more  than 
one  of  the  eighty  millions  of  God's  children  that  call 
America  mother  or  spouse.  Yet,  it  is  not  in  conflict 
with,  nay,  it  is  in  confirmation  of  America's  distinc 
tive  genius  that  the  commemorative  occasion  addresses 
its  call  to  one  alone  of  its  many  components  and  con 
tributors.  E  pluribus  unum  formulates  a  truth,  radi 
antly  visible  in  the  vision  of  this  day.  By  rejoicing  as 
Jews  we  are  accentuating  our  Americanism. 

And  in  similar  manner  the  pride  of  our  American 
ism  which  possesses  our  heart  and  is  yearning  for  ex 
pression  to-day,  is  not  a  protest  against,  it  is  a  procla 
mation  of  our  fidelity  to  our  Judaism.  Like  America, 
Judaism  has  been  appointed  to  pattern  the  richer 
diversities  of  polychrome  human  life.  Its  aspects 
are  many ;  its  vocalizations  numerous.  Catholic 
Israel  wears  neither  the  uniform  of  military  barracks 
nor  the  livery  of  the  penitentiary.  Its  is  Joseph's 
coat  of  many  colors.  This  continent  has  augmented 
the  prophecies  and  proclamations  of  Judaism  by  an 
other  variation.  This  new  articulation  again  is  not 
rigid.  It  is  vital  and  therefore  flexible.  In  this,  its 
elasticity  and  vitality,  American  Judaism  only  con 
forms  to  the  historic  plasticity  of  Pan-Judaism  and 
carries  it  out  to  fuller  productivity.  It  looks  like  an 
accident  that  wre  were  directed  at  the  watershed  Amer- 
icanward,  while  millions  of  brothers  were  sent  into 
Russia.  To  our  lot  fell  American  citizenship,  to  theirs 
slave  service  in  the  house  of  bondage  more  oppressive 
than  ever  was  Mizraim.  But  that  "  accident  "  signi- 
[152] 


fies  duty.  In  emphasizing  now  our  Americanism,  we 
vow  to  be  true  all  the  more  devotedly  to  the  obligation 
that  our  Judaism  imposes. 

In  fact,  he  is  ignorant  of  the  implications  of  Ameri 
canism  and  Judaism  both,  who  would  hold  that  be 
tween  them  towers  a  mountain  range  decreeing  and 
enforcing  their  divergent  separation.  The  contrast, 
not  to  say  conflict,  between  them,  I  know,  is  commonly 
summarized  in  the  statement  that  America  names  the 
civilization  of  hopeful  prospect,  Judaism  that  of  re 
gretful  retrospect.  The  latter  is  a  tearful  memory, 
the  former  a  joyful  anticipation.  Tradition  is  Juda 
ism's  store;  outlook,  America's  strength.  No  more 
arrogant  misconception  was  ever  coined  than  this  art 
fully  pointed  antithesis.  Judaism  is,  if  anything, 
the  one  religion  of  impatient  prospect  and  ecstatic 
prevision  of  the  unborn  to-morrow.  America  has  its 
traditions  as  clearly  determinative  as  are  the  influ 
ences  of  the  past  that  anchor  Judaism  to  its  historic 
moorings.  The  traditions  of  America  reach  back 
further  than  the  discovery  of  the  continent.  Our 
jurisprudence  is  grounded  on  the  old  common  law  of 
England.  And  in  these  precolonial  traditions,  which 
have  been  among  the  most  prolific  stimuli  of  American 
thought,  conduct,  and  character,  Judaism  has  had  a 
dominant  part.  In  the  Mayflower,  our  Bible  crossed 
the  Atlantic.  At  Plymouth  Rock  in  sober  reality  the 
Pentateuch  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  inspirations 
of  the  young  commonwealth.  The  Puritans  were,  in 
deed,  more  Hebraic  than  were  the  Jews  who  landed 
thirty-six  years  later.  Narrow  were  they,  but  their 
narrowness  was  ransomed  by  their  strength.  Serious 
[153] 


were  they,  but  their  seriousness  dowered  them  with  the 
fortitude  without  which  none  may  hope  to  yoke  un 
tamed  nature  to  his  purposes.  Puritan  Hebrewism 
alone  enabled  the  Pilgrims  to  exercise  dominion  over 
the  wilds  of  their  new  home.  This  Puritan  spirit 
was  nursed  at  the  breast  of  Jewish  literature.  It  was 
the  gift  laid  by  old  Judaism  into  the  cradle  of  this 
new  civilization.  It  had  share  in  preparing  the  advent 
of  the  era  of  independence,  as  in  the  thinking  of  the 
men  that  later  phrased  our  political  documents  un 
doubtedly  Old  Testament  principles  had  had  determi 
nating  influence. 

One  who  can  pierce  through  verbal  husk  to  inner 
kernel  can  harbor  no  doubt  on  the  essential  concord 
ance  of  Americanism  and  Judaism.  The  stronger  the 
Jew  in  us,  the  more  loyal  the  American  in  us  will 
grow  to  be.  What  is  the  fundamental  announcement 
of  Judaism?  You  say  the  "unity  of  God."  This 
may  and  may  not  name  the  characteristic  element. 
What  if  the  One  God  were  conceived  of  as  a  forbid 
ding  despot?  There  have  been  those  among  our  ene 
mies  to  misconstrue  in  this  wise  the  meaning  of  our 
monotheism.  They  have  said  that  the  Jew,  in  declar 
ing  his  God  to  be  One,  proclaims  the  rulership  of  an 
autocrat  whose  caprice  alone  tempered  by  bribes  is 
the  final  arbiter  of  the  world's  and  the  human  race's 
fate.  This  monotheism,  they  proceed  to  explain,  is 
therefore  differentiated  from  polytheism  only  in  its 
numerical  notation.  I  adduce  this  misrepresentation 
for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  the  advisability  of 
qualifying  our  definition.  Ethical  is  the  attribute 
usually  introduced  to  distinguish  the  monotheism  of 
[154] 


Judaism.  But  what  does  the  phrase  signify?  A 
German  thinker  of  fame  tells  us  that  all  religion  is 
anthropology.  In  the  doctrine  concerning  man,  flow 
ers  into  view  the  true  content  of  our  consciousness  of 
God's  all-pervading,  all-sustaining  presence.  One 
God  is  the  highest  expression  of  our  conviction  that 
as  every  man  is  created  in  the  image  of  God,  every 
man  by  his  birthright  is  the  equal  of  every  other  man. 
Every  man  as  partaking  of  divinity  has  a  value  which 
is  independent  of  all  the  accidents  due  to  the  action 
of  the  watersheds.  Man  having  a  value  inherent  in 
his  humanity,  has  personality,  and  therefore  has  no 
price.  Things  may  be  purchased,  persons  cannot. 
The  value  of  man  is  inexpressible  in  terms  of  the 
market.  Men  are  not  like  the  products  of  mine  or 
mill  equivalented  in  coin.  Low  or  lofty,  every  man 
incarnates  something  inalienable  which  is  not  affected 
by  circumstance.  In  this  something  roots  his  free 
sovereignty. 

Is  not  America's  political  creed  the  practical  execu 
tion  and  activization  of  these  fundamental  conceptions 
of  Judaism?  Judaism's  philosophy  spreads  the  basis 
whereon  rests  the  political  practice  of  America.  No 
other  justification  is  there  for  the  assumption  that 
men  are  born  free  and  equal  than  the  conception  of 
man  as  the  incarnation  of  the  divine,  his  personality 
constituting  his  unpurchasable  worth  and  being  the 
exponent  of  the  One  in  whose  image  all  alike  are 
created. 

This  inalienable  freedom  of  man  is  the  freedom  to 
live  out  the  law  of  his  being.  Law  and  freedom  are 
not  contraries ;  they  are  complementaries.  Judaism, 
[155] 


the  religion  of  freedom,  was  of  necessity  also  that  of 
the  Law.  To  whatever  degree  the  Talmudic  system 
through  micrology  may  have  mechanicalized  the  Law, 
none  who  understands  the  character  of  Judaism  but 
must  insist  that  liberty  to  activize  the  freedom  which 
it  posits  as  inherent  in  man's  participation  in  divinity, 
postulates  submission  to  the  high  law  of  moral 
majesty  and  final  supremacy.  The  law  of  the  moral 
order  is  imperfectly  expressed  in  the  self-given  law 
of  state  and  society.  Law  is  liberty  potentialized, 
liberty  is  law  actualized.  The  American's  passion 
for  liberty  vouchsafed  by  law  and  for  law  grounded 
in  liberty,  is  foreshadowed  and  sanctified  in  the  teach 
ings  of  Judaism. 

But  the  congruence  of  Judaism  and  Americanism 
extends  further.  Judaism  postulates  cooperation  and 
coordination,  as  the  principle  of  organized  society. 
In  the  chapter  all  the  richer  in  truth  because  it  echoes 
old  mythology,  which  records  the  creation  of  man, 
the  duty  and  destiny  of  this  last  of  God's  creative 
acts  is  defined  as  rulership  over  all  the  preceding 
works  of  God.  "  They,"  in  the  plural  shall  have 
dominion,  is  the  phraseology  of  the  account.  In 
other  words,  one  man  is  incompetent  to  fulfill  this  ap 
pointment.  No  man  may  be  spared  in  the  realiza 
tion  of  this  aim.  Through  cooperation  and  coordi 
nation  of  effort  and  purpose  in  ever  larger  scope,  the 
divinely  decreed  destiny  will  be  attained.  Our  politi 
cal  method  is  cooperative  and  establishes  the  coordina 
tion  of  the  various  organs.  Our  national  Constitu 
tion  is  often  described  as  a  noble  compromise.  It  had 
to  be  this  as  exponential  of  the  principles  under  which 
[156] 


alone  freedom  and  law  can  be  made  effective,  viz., 
cooperation  and  coordination.  But  not  only  that 
written  charter,  the  very  life  of  the  nation's  plan  of 
self-government  is  imbued  with  these  principles  and 
informed  by  them.  Home  autonomy  and  national 
authority  are  the  two  poles.  America  begins  with  the 
free  individual,  leads  him  for  cooperation  with  other 
free  individuals,  his  equals  along  ascending  steps,  to 
come  to  the  town  meeting,  which  then  expands  into 
the  municipality  and  county,  these  autonomous  cor 
porations  growing  into  the  State,  and  the  States 
finally  constituting  the  Union.  Above  the  Union 
the  unwritten  yet  wonderfully  effective  Highest  Law, 
the  law  not  only  of  this  nation  but  of  all  nations,  the 
Law  which  is  the  outflow  of  the  Moral  Order  of  the 
Universe,  the  moral  meaning  of  all  humanity's  striv 
ings  and  struggles.  If  the  Jewish  Commonwealth 
was  a  Theocracy,  our  Government  is  also  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  term  theocratic.  The  implications  of  the 
belief  in  the  One  God  are  basic  to  our  democracy. 

Often  antagonism  is  predicted  of  Judaism,  as  of 
religion  in  general,  to  the  buoyant,  energetic  spirit  of 
America,  its  assertive  self-conscious  self-reliant  real 
ism.  How  far  this  suspicion  is  justified  in  the  case  of 
other  religions,  it  is  not  for  me  to  verify.  Against 
Judaism  the  imputation  cannot  be  maintained.  I 
know  that  in  some  synagogues  the  conceit  has  been 
encouraged  which  would  make  of  Judaism  another 
scheme  of  salvation,  a  preparation  for  and  an  assur 
ance  of  immortality.  Under  this  misapprehension,  in 
deed,  Judaism  would  have  little  sympathy  with  the 
realities  of  this  world;  nor  would  it  have  any  but  an 
[157] 


indistinct  message  for  this  life.  But  is  other-worldli- 
ncss  the  dominant  in  Judaism's  proclamation,  or  the 
inspiration  of  its  prophecy?  Clearly  not.  Judaism 
would  inform  this  life,  this  world.  It  would,  through 
its  spirit,  transmute  conditions  and  characters  here 
and  now.  It  was  the  first  to  pray  "  Thy  Kingdom 
come."  But  this  kingdom,  this  Olam  ha-ba  was  not 
beyond  the  cloud.  Its  portals  were  not  those  of  the 
grave.  That  world  to  be,  which  is  the  vision  of  Israel's 
hope  and  faith,  is  this  world  of  ours  reconstituted 
under  the  sanctifying,  reforming  sway  of  justice, 
righteousness,  and  love.  With  justice  triumphant, 
righteousness  socialized,  Judaism  hails  the  advent  of 
the  Messianic  age  when  conditions  on  earth  will  be 
such  that  no  man  is  denied  opportunity  to  realize  his 
own  divinity.  Therefore,  the  dominion  of  religion  ac 
cording  to  our  doctrine  is  coextensive  with  the  range 
of  life.  Rail  out  of  the  plentitude  of  your  prejudices 
at  Talmudic  ritualism.  That  ritualism  is  perhaps  the 
caricature  but  still  the  expression  of  the  vital  truth 
that  nothing  in  life  is  indifferent  to  religion.  The 
most  trivial  acts  are  tremendous  acts.  There  is  no 
divide  at  which  the  secular  parts  company  from  the 
sacred.  Religion  must  be  in  all  things,  or  it  is  in 
nothing.  That  misinterpreted  phrase  "  My  King 
dom  is  not  of  this  world,"  as  understood  by  Catholic 
Christianity  and  Calvinistic  theology,  has  no  place  in 
the  dictionary  of  Judaism. 

Judaism  as  a  religion  has  concern  with  commerce 
and  industry.     It  is  characteristic  of  Judaism's  real 
ism  that  on  the  "  tables  of  the  law,"  doctrine  preludes 
duty.      "  Thou   shalt   not   steal "    was   as    solemnly 
[158] 


thundered  forth  as  "  I  am  the  Eternal."     This  con 
struction  of  Judaism  as  ideal  realism,  as  passion  for 
righting  things  of  this  world,  as  preparation  not  for 
death  but  for  the  perfect  "  world  to  be,"  the  perfect 
state  and  social  order  of  the  future,  is  not  new.     It 
is  the  burden  of  the  prophet's  censure  and  caution; 
it  is  the  content  of  Pentateuchal  legislative  provision. 
The  Rabbis  express  this  conviction  when  they  observe 
that  the  Torah  was  not  given  to  the  Angels,  and  de 
scribe  the  dramatic  reception  of  Moses  in  the  council 
chamber  of  God  when  come  to  claim  for  earth  the 
Torah.     The  angels  objected.    But  at  the  bidding  of 
the  Holy  One,  the  son  of  Amram  proves  that  angels 
need  not  the  Law;  that  its  commands  apply  to  men 
and  earth  alone.     How  far  have  they  strayed  from 
genuine  Judaism  who  would  have  the  Jewish  pulpit 
be  silent  on  the  injustices  of  earth,  the  maladjustment 
of  society,  and  under  the  plea  that  Temple  and  Syna 
gogue  must  be  sacred  to  religion,  would  have  religion 
shrink  into  a  contrivance  to  arouse  pleasurable  emo 
tions  in  the  worshiper — ecstatic,  sensuous  foregleams 
of  heaven  felicities;  into  an  apothecary's  laboratory 
where  patent  drugs  are  concocted  for  the  easing  of 
heartache,  or  opiates  are  held  in   readiness  for  the 
dulling  of  grief  and  pain  at  the  death  of  dear  ones. 
Religion  consoles  and  eases,  but  only  when  it  stimu 
lates  to  action,  when  it  quickens  conscience  and  directs 
aright  conduct.     Remember,  great  Rabbis  exposed  the 
iniquity  of  negro  slavery  from  their  pulpits.      Re 
member   that   our   greatest   Reform   teacher,   David 
Einhorn,  used  to  say  "  no  politics  in  religion  but  by 
all  means  religion  in  politics."     Negro  slavery  has 
[159] 


been  wiped  out,  but  alas !  other  and  worse  slavery  still 
prevails  in  this  world  of  ours.  Shall  they  who  hear 
the  clanking  of  the  chains  forego  speaking  through 
their  old  Jewish  prayer-book  praises  to  God  thrice 
daily,  for  having  led  His  people  from  bondage  of 
slavery?  No,  Judaism  is  for  this  world!  Its  genius 
of  hopeful  realism  has  syllabled  the  spiritual  message 
which  a  people  like  that  of  the  United  States  is  in 
need  of.  Because  its  kingdom  is  not  beyond  the  clouds, 
but  a  vision  of  justice  and  freedom  realized  in  the 
tents  of  man,  Judaism  strikes  the  note  that  sets  vibrat 
ing  the  heart  of  America  similarly  attuned  to  ener 
getic  realism,  similarly  tender  to  the  sufferer  from 
injustice,  similarly  hopeful  of  the  future  dawn  of 
universal  peace  and  liberty. 

Our  reform  Judaism  has  come  to  understand  in 
fullest  measure  this  concordance  of  its  own  genius 
with  that  of  the  institutions  and  the  soul  of  America. 
We  feel  that  if  anywhere  on  God's  footstool  our  Mes 
sianic  vision  will  be  made  real,  it  is  in  this  land  where 
a  new  humanity  seems  destined  to  arise.  Not  to  Jeru 
salem  are  our  eyes  turned,  but  to  God!  We  cannot 
honestly  declare  that  we  are  here  in  exile.  We  can 
not  honestly  petition  that  we  be  led  back  to  Palestine 
as  our  country.  We  have  a  country  which  is  ours  by 
the  right  of  our  being  identified  with  its  destinies,  our 
being  devoted  to  its  welfare,  our  sharing  its  trials, 
our  rejoicing  in  its  triumphs.  Two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  has  the  Jew  sojourned  in  this  country.  He  is 
not  an  alien  here.  His  views  of  liberty  and  law,  of 
man's  inalienable  rights  and  duties  hallowed  by  the 
sublimities  of  his  religion,  are  in  creative  concordance 

[  160  ] 


with    the    distinctive    principles    pillaring   American 
civilization. 

Not  an  alien,  the  Jewish  American  has  the  right  to 
ask  that  now,  when  in  darkest  Europe,  humanity  is 
outraged,  this,  his  land,  remain  hospitable  to  all  that 
would  escape  from  the  hell  of  persecution  and  intoler 
ance,  and  like  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  Puritan  faith 
and  the  first  Jews,  the  vanguard  of  the  million  and 
two  hundred  thousand  American  Jews,  would  make 
this  land  their  home.  The  Jew  in  America,  as  we  have 
the  good  right  to  say,  has  been  faithful  to  his 
pledges.  The  community  at  large  was  not  burdened 
in  consequence  of  its  generous  and  just  policy  of  the 
open  door.  Whatever  may  come  now,  we  shall  assume 
the  same  responsibility  without  haggling. 

I  myself,  an  immigrant,  and  you,  the  children  of 
immigrants,  if  not  immigrants  yourselves,  must  pre 
pare  to  receive  new  thousands  of  immigrants  from 
Russia,  which  is  a  hell;  from  Roumania,  which  is  an 
inferno.  We  must  ransom  the  pledge  given  by  those 
who  settled  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  that 
"  none  of  ours  shall  be  a  burden  on  the  community." 
In  this  awful  calamity  all  American  Jewry  must  band 
and  stand  together.  It  is  a  duty  we  owe  to  Judaism 
and  to  America ;  one  of  the  many  obligations  in  which 
our  Judaism  emphasizes  what  our  Americanism 
tokens;  in  which  our  Americanism  proves  that  it  is 
harmoniously  attuned  to  the  most  profound  and  most 
solemn  declarations  of  our  Judaism.  The  flag  shall 
welcome  the  new  pilgrims,  and  our1  faith  shall  make 
them  know  that  their  tottering  steps  shall  be  sup 
ported  and  their  trembling  hands  shall  be  upheld 
[161] 


after  the  terrible  afflictions  laid  on  them  in  the  land 
of  their  birth,  the  land  of  despotic  brutality,  of  de 
humanized  barbarism. 

Great  is  the  joy  which  may  possess  our  heart.  Our 
escutcheon  as  Americans  is  without  stain.  We  have 
had  a  share  in  the  making  of  this  nation.  In  the  mine 
and  in  the  mill,  at  the  lathe  and  at  the  loom,  in  count 
ing  room  and  council  chamber,  the  Jew  has  been  at 
work  for  two  centuries  and  a  half  for  his  America. 
He  has  sentried  his  nation's  camp ;  he  has  been  in  the 
mast's  lookout  on  his  nation's  ships ;  he  has  gone  out 
to  battle,  and  he  \vas  among  them  that  fell  at  the  firing 
line.  Officer,  private,  whatever  his  rank,  when  the 
nation  asked  for  life  or  limb,  he  did  not  hesitate  to 
offer  the  sacrifice.  In  institutions  of  learning  the  Jew 
has  made  his  mark.  Jn  the  walks  of  enterprise  his 
individuality  has  been  felt  as  a  telling  potency  in  the 
development  of  the  greater  aims  of  American  energy. 
In  the  professions  he  stands  high ;  on  the  bench  he  has 
often  had  representation  by  the  best  among  the  best ; 
in  the  pulpits  of  the  land,  the  Jew  has  not  been  in  the 
last  and  lowest  ranks.  In  Boston,  I  believe,  these 
days  they  will  commemorate  Garrison's  services.  This 
offers  an  opportunity  to  dwell  once  more  upon  facts 
often  overlooked,  and  therefore  all  the  more  worthy 
of  being  pointed  out,  that  in  that  struggle  against 
slavery  none  was  more  eager,  none  was  more  enthusi 
astic  than  the  leader  of  American  Reform  Judaism. 
And  in  evidence  how  intensely  wedded  to  liberty  is 
Judaism,  his  voice  found  strong  support  in  the  pulpit 
of  the  most  orthodox  Portuguese  synagogue  of  Phila 
delphia.  Ready  to  die,  if  necessary,  among  those  that 
[162] 


spoke  against  slavery,  at  risk  of  life  and  position, 
were  David  Einhorn  and  Sabato  Morais. 

We  have  earned  the  right  to  call  this  our  country. 
The  future  will  place  new  solemn  obligations  upon  us 
for  the  country's  sake  and  as  Judaism's  consecration ; 
we  shall  not  shirk  our  duties.  Happy  we  American 
Jews  that  have  a  country.  America  is  ours.  We  can 
sing  with  all  others, 

My  country,  'tis  of  thee ! 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 
Of  thee  I  sing ; 
Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  our  Pilgrims'  pride. 

The  watershed  separates  raindrops  and  snowflakes 
to  divergent  destiny.  Race,  religion,  birth,  and  con 
dition,  also  seem  to  divide.  But  on  the  heights  the  line 
of  separation  is  thin ;  and  in  duty  again  all  difference 
of  direction  is  consecrated  to  unity  of  purpose.  In 
our  nation  no  divides  but  are  instrumentalities  of  serv 
ice.  Clinging  to  his  Judaism,  the  Jew  will  be  a  more 
strenuous,  a  more  loyal,  a  more  enthusiastic  American. 

May  God  bless  our  country;  keep  it  in  His  pro 
tection.  May  His  light  shine  out  o'er  it,  and  His 
peace  abide  and  abound  in  it.  This  is  the  prayer  of 
the  Jew  on  this,  the  Jewish- American  anniversary  day 
of  joy  and  solemn  resolves.  Answer  it,  God  in  heaven, 
in  Thy  mercy.  Amen,  Amen! 


[163] 


ADDRESS    BY    REV.    DR.    M.    HELLER 

Our  President,  in  his  proclamation  of  Thanksgiv 
ing,  recalls  the  grim  conditions  of  hardship,  priva 
tion,  and  constant  danger  under  which,  nearly  three 
hundred  years  ago,  the  Puritan  pioneers  set  aside  a 
day  for  public  thanks  to  God,  a  day  which  has  be 
come,  alongside  with  our  marvelous  growth  and  un 
paralleled  prosperity,  a  national  institution. 

The  American  Jew,  blessed  with  peace  and  plenty 
almost  beyond  his  brothers  in  any  other  land,  has 
special  reasons  for  joining  whole-heartedly  with  his 
fellow-citizens  in  a  festival  for  which  his  Bible  fur 
nished  the  pattern,  in  which  his  prophets  would  have 
recognized  a  foreshadowing  of  the  brotherhood-faith 
at  the  end  of  time.  The  hymn  of  gratitude,  the  Halle 
lujah  psalm,  is  innocent  of  creed  assertion  or  of  sec 
tarian  barrier.  We  are  all  human  in  our  need  of  God's 
blessing,  all  children  while  we  are  joying  in  His  good 
ness.  God's  house,  at  such  a  time,  becomes,  in  very 
deed,  as  our  seers  yearned  it  should  be,  a  "  house  of 
prayer  for  all  the  nations." 

Not  because  we  wish  to  group  ourselves  apart  in 
the  general  chorus,  but  because  our  special  thanks 
accord  perfectly  with  the  universal  service,  we  have 
raised  this  day  out  of  the  ordinary  succession  of 
thanksgiving  days  by  commemorating  thereon  the 
quarter-millennial  anniversary  of  Jewish  settlement 
in  the  United  States.  It  is  matter  for  profound  grati 
tude  that  we  can  look  back  in  these  United  States  with 
a  sense  of  congratulation  upon  all  these  years  of  un 
disturbed  peace  and  steadfast  growth;  it  is  because 
[164] 


we  cannot  feel  ourselves  other  than  a  part  of  the  great 
citizenship  of  this  blessed  country  that  we  refuse  to 
set  aside  a  separate  day,  but  would  rather  join  our 
celebration  with  the  general  observance. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  September  of  the  year  1654 
that  in  the  quaint  American-Dutch  town  of  New 
Amsterdam  there  landed  with  the  vessel  St.  Cata- 
rina  a  party  of  twenty-three  Jewish  refugees.  They 
came  from  Brazil,  where  they  had  fought  bravely,  but 
in  vain,  to  assist  the  Dutch  against  the  victorious 
Portuguese.  They  arrived  virtually  penniless ;  hav 
ing  been  unable  to  pay  the  passage  money,  their  goods 
were  seized,  two  of  the  party  imprisoned,  until  the 
wealthier  could  obtain  money  from  Holland  to  pay 
for  the  poorer  members  of  the  party.  The  bigoted 
and  testy  governor,  Peter  Stuyvesant,  was  for  ship 
ping  them  back  at  once;  he  would  have  no  Jews  in 
his  colony.  But  his  masters  of  the  Dutch  West 
India  Company,  though  they  called  the  arrival  an 
"invasion,"  would  not  hear  of  any  such  injustice; 
they  directed  him  to  permit  these  men  to  settle  and 
trade  "  provided  the  poor  among  them  shall  not  be 
come  a  burden  to  the  company  or  the  community,  but 
be  supported  by  their  own  nation." 

Even  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  however, 
drew  certain  limits  around  the  fairness  for  which  it 
contended  against  the  alarmed  Stuyvesant.  The 
Jews  were  not  to  be  admitted  to  public  office;  they 
were  to  be  kept  out  of  the  retail  trade ;  their  worship 
was  to  be  altogether  private;  their  houses  to  be  built 
"  close  together."  The  new  settlers  had  not  been  a 
year  on  these  shores  when  they  petitioned  for  the 
[165] 


right  of  mounting  guard  with  their  fellow-citizens  in 
defense  of  their  new  homes  ;  that,  too,  was  denied  them ; 
to  bake  and  sell  bread  "  with  closed  doors  "  was  too 
valuable  a  privilege  to  accord  the  Jews;  yet,  in  the 
course  of  less  than  three  years,  these  men  and  their 
successors  had  approved  themselves  of  such  mettle 
that  they  were  admitted  to  burgher  rights  and  that 
one  barrier  of  restraint  after  another  fell  away  before 
them.  I  have  not  dwelt  upon  these  modest,  yet  not 
unworthy,  origins  from  any  foolish  pride  of  priority 
in  settlement.  It  matters  comparatively  little  that  the 
Jew  arrived  on  these  shores  only  a  few  years  after 
Puritan  and  Pilgrim,  that  he  preceded  the  German 
and  the  Irish  immigration;  I  thank  a  kind  Provi 
dence,  for  my  part,  that  the  St.  Catarina  has  not 
become  a  kind  of  Jewish  Mayflower,  to  whose  list  of 
passengers  silly  people  might  refer  in  proof  of  the 
blueness  of  their  blood  or  the  exalted  character  of  their 
lineage ;  to  me  the  humblest  Russian  refugee,  escap 
ing  from  the  terrors  of  the  "  Holy  Empire,"  is  as 
much  of  an  aristocrat  as  any  member  of  that  proud 
multi-millionaire  family  whose  German  ancestor  beat 
furs  at  a  dollar  a  day  for  his  Jewish  employer. 

But  our  finicky  civilization  has  hit  upon  the  word 
"  alien  "  by  which  neatly  to  circumscribe  the  horror- 
haunted  Jew  when  it  wishes  to  slam  in  his  care-fur 
rowed  face  the  door  of  refuge.  The  proud  Anglo- 
Saxon  countries,  pioneers  and  colonizers  of  the  world, 
empire  builders  on  foundations  of  breezy  manliness, 
have  been  stricken  with  fear  of  the  "  alien,"  who 
might  take  the  bread  from  their  mouths;  partly  as 
a  sop  to  the  labor  vote,  partly  because  immigration 

[166] 


has  "  degenerated,"  they  devise  restrictions  by  which 
to  make  more  difficult  for  the  robbed  and  hunger- 
stricken  refugee  the  entrance  to  the  land  of  his  dreams. 

For  the  Jew,  here  or  anywhere  else,  "  alien  "  is  a 
singularly  unfitting  designation.  He  has  never  been 
voluntarily  a  wanderer,  any  more  than  he  was,  in 
darker  ages,  by  choice  an  outcast.  He  does  not  lack 
the  sturdy  fiber  of  the  pioneer ;  witness  the  Jews  who 
encouraged  and  financed  the  voyages  of  Columbus  and 
those  who  sailed  with  him  and  the  Portuguese  dis 
coverers;  witness  the  hardy  Jewish  settlers  of  South 
Africa  and  Australia,  our  own  forty-niners  and  gold 
hunters  of  the  Yukon ;  way  out  on  the  Nairobi  plateau 
the  Zionists  found  Jewish  settlers,  even  while  they 
were  examining  the  virgin  country  to  report  whether 
England's  offer  should  be  accepted  or  declined  by 
their  congress. 

The  Jew,  whenever  he  migrated  in  masses,  was 
driven,  not  by  visions  of  wealth,  but  by  cruel  intoler 
ance;  these  Brazilians  were  fleeing  from  the  Inquisi 
tion,  as  the  Russian  Jew,  overwhelmed  after  a  brave 
defense,  is  turning  his  back  upon  the  benighted  coun 
try  of  Pobiedonostseff. 

The  people  that  loved  their  own  country  of  Pales 
tine  with  a  deathless  affection  which  has  outlasted  cen 
turies  of  exile,  the  people  that  clung  to  their  beloved 
Spain  with  torture  and  stake  ever  before  their  eyes, 
that  people  is  loyal  even  to  the  most  cruel  of  step- 
fatherlands  ;  when  in  New  York  at  a  mass  meeting  of 
Jews  the  liberation  of  Russia  was  announced  there 
were  hundreds  with  tears  streaming  down  their  faces, 
who  declared  themselves  ready  to  return  at  once  to  the 
[167] 


land  where  they  had  seen  so  much  misery,  to  which 
yet,  in  their  hearts,  they  had  never  renounced  alle 
giance. 

Not  apologetically,  upon  abject  defense  against 
untiring  slanderers,  but  as  men,  conscious  of  their 
worth,  American  Jews  may  to-day  point  with  calm 
pride  to  the  record  of  their  patriotic  service  during 
this  quarter  of  a  millennium.  Small  as  were  their  num 
bers  in  this  country  prior  to  the  immigration  move 
ments  of  the  last  century,  we  find  their  names  among 
the  builders  of  the  infant  colony ;  Lord  Bellamont  rec 
ognizes  gratefully  their  financial  support ;  they  figure 
among  the  charter  members  of  commercial  bodies  and 
exchanges ;  as  provision  agents  for  the  army,  as  con 
tributors  to  the  erection  of  Christian  churches,  they 
prove  themselves  capable  in  business  and  enlightened 
in  their  ideas. 

How  warmly  they  participated  in  the  struggles  of 
the  revolution  is  known  to  every  student  of  American 
history;  it  reminds  us  of  our  own  unforgettable  Dr. 
Gutheim  and  his  patriotism  during  the  secession  era, 
to  read  of  Rabbi  Gershom  Mendez  Seixas  leaving  New 
York  with  most  of  the  members  of  this  community 
when  it  was  about  to  be  occupied  by  the  British ;  the 
services  of  Isaac  Moses  to  Robert  Morris ;  the  ines 
timable  and  unrequited  sacrifices  of  Haym  Salomon 
to  whom  James  Madison  describes  himself  as  a  pen 
sioner  upon  his  bounty ;  the  enthusiastic  participation 
of  Jews,  from  common  soldiers  to  colonel,  in  the  hard 
ships  and  exploits  of  Washington's  campaigns;  all 
these  are  matters  of  record.  That  we  have  borne  more 
than  our  share  in  every  subsequent  crisis,  that  the  Jew 
[168] 


has  proved  himself,  in  every  walk  of  life  a  peaceful, 
industrious,  home-loving,  and  law-abiding  member  of 
the  commonwealth  it  is  not  for  us  to  dwell  upon ;  suf 
fice  it  to  say  that  whenever  the  history  of  these  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years  of  our  dwelling  in  this  blessed 
land  shall  be  written,  it  may  contain  here  and  there  a 
line  that  we  might  wish  blotted  out,  but  it  will  stand 
unafraid  and  unashamed  by  the  side  of  the  services  and 
achievements  of  any  other  element  in  our  varied  popu 
lation. 

It  is  not,  however,  of  our  merits  that  we  ought  to 
think  to-day  with  no  matter  how  justifiable  a  pride, 
but  rather  of  our  obligations  to  Providence  in  the  first 
place,  to  this  glorious  country  in  the  second.  "  Our 
lines  have  fallen  in  pleasant  places,  yea,  our  heritage 
is  pleasing  unto  us."  Just  at  this  particular  moment 
when  from  the  East  there  is  borne  to  us  the  heart-rend 
ing  cry  of  our  stricken  brothers,  when  we  read,  with  a 
shudder,  of  what  insane  ferocities  a  frenzied  mob  is 
capable,  must  we  not  thank  God,  with  redoubled  fer 
vor,  for  the  goodly,  broad,  and  ample  land  in  which  He 
has  placed  our  lot,  for  its  boundless  opportunities,  its 
well-appointed,  straight-steering  Government,  above 
all  for  the  spirit  of  equity  and  freedom  which  is  not 
merely  embodied  in  its  laws,  but  a  possession  of  its 
people  ? 

Looking  back  upon  our  small  beginnings  and  for 
ward  to  the  unf oldment  that  still  awaits  us,  ought  we 
not,  from  the  view,  to  bring  away  with  us  a  warmer 
allegiance  to  all  the  wealth  of  example  and  ideal  which 
the  past  has  transmitted,  a  more  patriotic  fealty  to 
every  principle  of  freedom  and  justice,  of  humanity 
[169] 


and  peace  which  has  made  our  American  civilization 
the  beacon  light  for  all  aspiring  mankind  ?  How  else 
can  we  attest  the  genuineness  of  our  gratitude  than  by 
the  patriotism  that  will  challenge  every  test  of  sin 
cerity?  How  otherwise  than  by  standing  guardians 
over  every  endangered  tradition  of  enlightened  citi 
zenship,  of  high-aiming  polity,  of  fearless  and  gen 
erous  manhood  which  our  Washingtons  and  our 
Franklins,  our  Jeffersons  and  our  Lincolns  have 
bequeathed  us? 

The  Jew  is  the  chosen  martyr  of  inhumanity ;  wher 
ever  men  still  grope  in  darkness,  wherever  the  world  is 
still  the  old  primeval  forest  of  savagery  with  beasts  of 
prey  prowling  to  devour  the  feeble,  there  is  the  Jew 
the  victim,  whether  of  murder  and  assault  and  arson, 
or  of  slander,  discrimination,  and  ostracism.  Haunted 
by  the  furies  of  bigotry,  he  must  clutch  in  convul 
sive  grasp  the  Book,  heirloom  and  testament  of  his 
fathers,  which  bids  him  labor  for  the  triumph  of 
freedom,  justice,  and  peace ;  with  the  Egyptians  behind 
him,  God's  pillar  of  cloud  points  out  to  him  the  one 
road  to  his  ultimate  land  of  paradise.  He  sees  in  the 
fathers  of  this  country,  in  the  Puritan  and  the  Pil 
grim,  in  its  champions  of  freedom,  in  its  advocates  of 
humanity,  true  spiritual  heirs  of  the  prophetic  spirit ; 
and  it  is  by  their  sacred  names  that  he  vows  an  eternal 
enmity  to  all  the  foes ;  of  bossism  and  corruption,  of 
greed  and  dishonesty,  of  luxurious  indolence  and 
cynic  indifference,  of  tyranny,  bigotry,  and  indif 
ference  that  threaten  to  sap  the  foundations  of  this 
noble  structure ;  he  pledges  himself  to  lead  and  to  do 
valiant  battle  for  the  preservation  of  all  that  has  made 
[170] 


these  United  States  not  merely  a  world  power  of 
bristling  warships  and  serried  armies,  but  a  world  in 
fluence  and  a  world  refuge  for  peace  and  fairness  and 
humane  service  among  the  nations  of  the  world. 
Amen! 


[171] 


ADDRESS    BY   GOVERNOR   PARDEE,   OF 
CALIFORNIA 

The  celebration  of  a  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anni 
versary  is  for  most  of  us  Americans  the  commemora 
tion  of  a  tolerably  ancient  historical  event,  but  such 
an  occurrence  is  merely  an  affair  of  yesterday  for  a 
people  whose  annals  began  before  Rome  or  Babylon. 
The  Jew  is  at  once  the  oldest  and  the  most  modern 
of  races,  fully  meriting  in  this  respect  the  remarkable 
tribute  of  Mark  Twain,  which  I  cannot  do  better  than 
to  quote :  "  The  Egyptian,  the  Babylonian,  the  Per 
sian,"  he  said,  "  rose,  filled  the  planet  with  sound  and 
splendor,  then  faded  to  dream  stuff  and  passed  away ; 
the  Greek  and  Roman  followed  and  made  a  vast  noise, 
and  they  are  gone ;  other  peoples  have  sprung  up  and 
held  their  torch  high  for  a  time,  but  it  burned  out, 
and  they  sit  in  twilight  now,  or  have  vanished.  .  .  . 
All  things  are  mortal  but  the  Jew;  all  other  forces 
pass,  but  he  remains.  What  is  the  secret  of  his  immor 
tality?  " 

The  Jewish  state,  in  due  time,  went  to  pieces,  like 
all  other  great  states  of  antiquity,  but  the  Jewish  peo 
ple,  unlike  other  peoples  of  the  Old  World,  are  still 
with  us,  distinct,  individual,  unmistakable;  that  con 
stitutes  the  marked  difference  between  them  and  other 
races.  Even  though  dispersed  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
they  remain  a  force  and  play  an  even  more  important 
part  in  the  modern  world  than  they  did  in  the  an 
cient  one.  The  prophets  of  Israel  spoke  truly  when 
they  said  this  people  had  been  chosen  for  a  great 
destiny. 

[  172  ] 


In  this  New  World,  to  which  the  Jewish  pioneers 
came  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  the  experience 
of  the  race  was  fated  to  differ  a  good  deal  from  that 
in  the  older  one.  It  has  been  a  pretty  good  world  for 
the  Jew,  the  same  as  it  has  been  for  the  rest  of  us.  He 
has  here  escaped  the  persecutions  which  have  followed 
him  continually  in  the  other  hemisphere.  It  is  said 
those  nations  are  the  happiest  which  have  no  history, 
and  it  can  almost  be  said  that  in  America,  as  a  race, 
the  Jew  has  no  history,  merely  because  he  has  not  been 
hunted  and  outlawed.  The  Jew  has  made  contribu 
tions  to  the  sum  total  of  our  national  achievements, 
but  he  has  done  it  as  an  individual  and  not  as  a  class. 
He  has  always  been  a  good  American.  In  the  Revo 
lution,  when  there  were  but  few  Jews  in  the  country, 
they  fought  in  the  patriot  armies  and  contributed  of 
their  wealth  to  the  scanty  resources  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  In  the  War  of  1812,  the  war  with  Mexico, 
and  the  Civil  and  Spanish  wars,  the  Jew  was  always 
well  to  the  front  as  a  soldier.  The  Jew  seldom  makes 
it  his  trade  to  fight,  but  when  he  considers  fighting  a 
duty,  he  can  perform  it  fearlessly. 

But  it  is  in  the  arts  of  peace  and  not  of  war  that 
the  Jew  in  America  has  made  his  best  record,  for  he 
is  essentially  industrious  and  thrifty.  He  has  been  the 
leading  financier  of  a  thousand  prosperous  communi 
ties.  He  has  been  enterprising  and  aggressive.  His 
genius  for  commerce  has  here  had  free  play,  and  he 
has  a  little  more  than  held  his  own  with  all  competitors. 
Withal,  he  has  been  a  good  citizen.  He  has  been  one 
of  the  best  friends  of  the  public  school,  to  which  he 
generally  sends  his  children,  whether  he  be  rich  or  poor. 
[173] 


He  believes  in  education.  He  wants  his  sons  to  have 
the  best  training  to  enable  them  to  do  their  part  in 
the  world's  work.  He  is  a  liberal  supporter  of  col 
leges,  libraries,  hospitals,  and  relief  societies.  He 
takes  care  of  the  poor  of  his  own  race  and  helps  care 
for  other  people's  poor.  He  possesses  human  sym 
pathy,  and  it  is  backed  up  by  business  judgment. 
When  he  establishes  a  charity  it  is  very  sure  to  be  well 
administered.  He  has  a  gift  for  practical  idealism. 
He  is  an  organizer  and  believes  in  associated  effort. 
He  is  able  to  "  get  together."  Whatever  movement 
may  be  on  foot  to  promote  the  welfare  of  a  community 
— whether  it  be  to  organize  a  chamber  of  commerce, 
to  establish  a  new  bank,  or  to  build  a  big  hotel — the 
Jewish  business-man  is  sure  to  do  his  part.  He  is 
naturally  conservative,  but  at  the  same  time  enter 
prising. 

In  Europe,  during  the  last  few  centuries,  the  Jew 
ish  race  has  given  the  world  an  extraordinary  num 
ber  of  men  and  women  of  genius,  demonstrating  that 
the  inspiration  of  the  old  Hebrew  prophets  and  poets 
has  lost  none  of  its  genuineness  in  its  descent  of  three 
thousand  years.  There  is  no  field  of  knowledge  which 
Jewish  scholars  have  not  cultivated  with  success — his 
tory,  geography,  mathematics,  philology,  philosophy, 
physics,  medicine,  law,  music,  and  the  fine  arts.  In 
the  history  of  all  the  sciences,  there  are  eminent 
Jewish  names.  It  would  be  an  honor  to  any  race  to 
have  produced  a  Spinoza,  a  Herschell,  a  Mendelssohn 
Bartholdy,  and  a  Heine.  To  these  names  I  might  add 
Lasalle,  Bendavid,  Beer,  Wilna,  Mendelssohn,  Halevy, 
Meyerbeer,  Moscheles,  Auerbach,  Zangwill,  Joachim, 
[174] 


Rubenstein,  Wieniawski,  Rachel,  Grisi,  Bernhardt, 
and  a  long  list  of  others. 

All  of  these  famous  names  belong,  of  course,  to  Eu 
rope  and  not  to  America,  but  in  philosophy  and  music 
this  country  has  not  yet  commenced  to  have  any  great 
names  belonging  to  any  race,  and  until  recently  the 
Jewish  population  has  been  merely  a  handful  and  very 
busily  occupied  in  quite  different  pursuits.  The  finer 
fruits  of  its  genius  will  ripen  here  as  elsewhere  in  due 
time. 

The  number  of  Jews  in  the  United  States,  now 
amounting  to  about  a  million  and  a  half,  has  been 
recruited  very  rapidly,  as  you  know,  during  the  last 
twenty  years,  and  the  immigration  promises  to  con 
tinue  large,  so  long  as  the  present  unhappy  conditions 
prevail  in  Russia.  That  country,  which  is  now  the 
scene  of  a  great  civil  convulsion,  contains  half  of 
all  the  Jews  in  the  world,  and  they  are  being  driven 
to  emigrate  by  the  studied  policy  of  their  rulers.  The 
great  churchman,  Pobiedonostseff,  the  zealot  who  has 
dominated  the  civil  and  religious  policy  of  the  empire 
during  the  reactionary  reigns  of  Alexander  III  and 
Nicholas  II,  is  said  to  have  boasted  that  the  persecu 
tions  of  the  Jews  would  make  Christian  converts  of 
one-third  of  them,  would  starve  another  third,  and 
would  drive  the  remaining  third  to  America  or  some 
other  foreign  country.  It  has  not  been  learned  that 
many  Russian  Jews  have  been  converted,  though  per 
haps  some  have  been  starved;  but  a  million  of  them 
have  emigrated,  and  this  gives  the  United  States  a 
very  direct  and  strong  interest  in  the  events  which 
are  transpiring  in  the  land  of  the  Czar.  For  this 
[175] 


immigration  will  go  on  so  long  as  the  state  of  affairs 
in  Russia  remains  substantially  unaltered,  and  it 
necessarily  lias  a  direct  bearing  on  economic  and  social 
conditions  in  the  United  States.  Twenty-five  years 
ago  Russian  Jews  were  coming  to  this  country  at  the 
rate  of  about  a  thousand  per  year,  but  recently  the 
number  of  these  immigrants  has  grown  to  seventy- 
five  thousand  a  year.  The  State  of  New  York  has 
already  a  Jewish  population  of  over  half  a  million, 
and  it  is  clear  that  in  the  future  the  Jewish  element 
is  going  to  constitute  quite  a  fraction  of  our  total 
population. 

But  while  for  these  reasons  the  people  of  the  United 
States  have  a  very  real  interest  in  what  the  Govern 
ment  of  Russia  does  to  render  good  or  bad  the  lot  of 
the  five  million  Jews  in  that  distant  land,  we  are 
vastly  more  concerned  for  reasons  of  humanity.  The 
dominant  feeling  with  regard  to  recent  occurrences  in 
Odessa  and  other  Russian  cities  is  the  horror  of  it  all. 
The  slaughter,  through  race  prejudice,  of  literally 
thousands  of  peaceful,  industrious,  inhabitants  of  a 
single  city  is  such  wholesale  cruelty  as  had  not  before 
been  known  for  many  decades  in  any  country  calling 
itself  civilized  or  even  semicivilized.  A  few  years 
since  there  occurred  the  Kishineff  riots,  in  which  some 
fifty  persons  lost  their  lives,  several  hundreds  were 
injured  and  two  thousand  families  were  ruined.  That 
outrage  aroused  the  indignation  of  the  world,  and  the 
international  resentment  was  so  strong  that  the  Czar 
and  his  advisers  found  it  necessary  to  go  through  the 
form  of  trying  and  punishing  the  principal  offenders, 
although  their  murderous  acts  amounted  to  little  more 
[176] 


than  carrying  to  its  logical  conclusion  the  policy  of 
oppression  which  the  government  itself  had  been  pur 
suing  for  a  dozen  years.  But  the  horrors  of  Kishineff 
pale  into  insignificance  in  comparison  with  the  dread 
ful  events  of  the  last  few  weeks,  which  do  indeed  stag 
ger  humanity. 

It  is  true  that  these  slaughters  were  mainly  the 
work  of  mobs,  crazed  by  the  excitement  of  a  revolu 
tionary  crisis,  and  that  there  is  no  reason  to  believe 
the  Emperor  and  his  counselors  would  have  permitted 
such  excesses,  if  they  could  have  prevented  them  at  the 
moment.  But  governments  which  have  adopted  op 
pression  as  a  consistent  policy  cannot  excuse  them 
selves  if  a  passion-blinded  populace  supplements  sys 
tematic  cruelty  by  murderous  assaults  upon  those 
whom  they  have  been  taught  to  regard  as  their  racial 
enemies. 

No  nation  has  ever  more  grievously  oppressed  a 
people  whom  duty  called  upon  it  to  favor  and  protect. 
Think  for  a  moment  of  the  giant  injustice  involved 
in  the  whole  scheme  of  concentrating  the  Jewish  popu 
lation  within  narrow  limits  and  restricting  their  free 
dom  of  employment.  Industrial  conditions  in  Russia 
are  none  too  good  at  the  best,  but  they  are  hard  in 
deed  for  the  five  millions  of  Jews  of  the  Pale,  who  are 
compelled  to  reside  within  a  district  embracing  but  one 
twenty-third  of  the  territories  of  the  empire,  and  even 
there  are  required  to  congregate  in  the  congested 
towns  and  cities  and  cannot  reside  in  the  small  villages 
or  in  the  country.  What  wonder  that  a  large  portion 
of  the  whole  Jewish  population  is  always  on  the  verge 
of  starvation  and  that  discontent  is  rife  among  the 
[177] 


whole  mass?  The  Russian  Government  complains  be 
cause  many  Jews  are  socialists,  but  when  we  remember 
the  cruel  injustice  to  which  they  are  subjected,  it  is 
a  wonder  that  the  whole  population  does  not  join  the 
revolutionary  movement.  And  yet  when  Russia  needs 
soldiers  to  fight  her  battles,  she  calls  freely  upon  the 
Jews,  and  it  is  pathetic  to  see  how  loyally  they  re 
spond.  In  the  late  war  with  Japan,  it  is  said  thirty 
thousand  Jews  were  in  the  regiments  which  went  to 
the  front,  and  many  of  them  laid  down  their  lives  for 
a  government  which  possesses  no  more  sense  of  grati 
tude  than  to  try  to  drive  to  starvation  or  emigration 
the  families  of  these  men. 

But  such  wrongs  cannot  endure  forever,  since  they 
are  bound  to  drag  down  any  government  which  is  re 
sponsible  for  them.  The  Russian  autocracy  has  at 
last  sunk  under  the  weight  of  the  odium  it  had  rolled 
up,  and  at  length  we  have  the  promise  of  a  free  Rus 
sia — a  constitutional  and  liberal  government  which 
will  not  adopt  a  policy  of  deliberate  oppression  toward 
any  class  of  its  people.  That  this  promise  will  be 
realized  will  be  the  hope  of  every  friend  of  freedom, 
and  it  finds  considerable  support  in  such  occurrences 
as  the  adoption  of  resolutions  of  sympathy  by  the 
Zemstvo  Congress  in  session  in  Moscow.  So,  although 
the  recent  massacres  were  the  most  tragic  event  in  the 
whole  history  of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  there  is  reason 
able  ground  to  cherish  the  belief  that  the  end  of 
these  things  is  near  at  hand  in  the  breakdown  of  the 
whole  system  of  tyrannical  oppression  of  the  Israel- 
itish  race  in  the  land  of  the  Great  White  Czar,  who 
is  likely  to  become  soon  merely  the  constitutional 
[178] 


sovereign  of  his  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  people, 
and  if  so,  there  will  be  none  more  prosperous,  more 
industrious,  and  more  loyal  than  the  five  million 
Hebrews.  When  that  time  comes  the  Jews  of  Russia 
will  be  what  the  Jews  of  America  have  always  been— 
good  citizens,  devoted  to  the  preservation  of  govern 
mental  institutions  which  guarantee  justice  to  all 
races  and  all  men. 

And  we  here  to-day,  celebrating  the  two  hundred 
and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  advent  of  the  Jews  in 
America,  rejoice  that,  at  last,  even  though  it  be 
through  blood  and  fire,  the  only  civilized  nation  in 
the  world  that,  at  the  beginning  of  this  twentieth  cen 
tury,  oppressed  the  Jew  will  be  compelled,  by  the 
very  force  of  events,  to  become  more  tolerant,  more 
merciful,  more  civilized  toward  the  people,  who  from 
the  very  dawn  of  history,  have  made  headway  against 
oppression  in  all  the  arts  and  sciences.  What  other 
people  could  have  suffered  the  outrages,  the  crimes, 
the  persecutions  of  six  thousand  years  and  still  sur 
vived  as  have  the  Jews?  What  other  people,  coming 
from  the  Judengasse  within  half  a  century  could  have 
climbed  so  high,  even  to  the  courts  of  Europe,  as  have 
the  Jews? 

America  has  been  a  happy  haven  for  the  oppressed 
Jew.  And,  while  America  has  done  much  for  him,  he 
has  done  much  for  America. 


[179] 


ADDRESS   BY   PRESIDENT   WHEELER,   OF 
THE    UNIVERSITY    OF    CALIFORNIA, 

To-day  a  peculiar  New  World  festival  called 
Thanksgiving  Day  is  celebrated  for  the  two  hundred 
and  eighty-fifth  time.  Its  first  occurrence  was  at 
the  hands  of  the  Plymouth  Pilgrims,  a  peculiar  peo 
ple  zealous  of  good  works.  These  Pilgrims  had 
sought  the  New  World  in  the  instinct  of  liberty  of 
conscience,  and  by  this  liberty  they  meant  for  them 
selves  the  freedom  to  worship  God  according  to  their 
own  conscience,  and  for  other  people  who  sojourned 
among  them  they  meant  that,  if  such  people  agreed 
with  them,  they  were  "  to  feel,"  as  Heman  Lincoln 
said,  "  at  perfect  liberty  to  say  so."  These  Pilgrims, 
now,  were  Old  Testament  Christians.  The  Jehovah 
they  worshiped  was  endowed  with  the  attributes  both 
of  justice  and  mercy,  but  they  were  shrewd  Old  Tes 
tament  Christians  withal,  and  esteemed  it  wise  and 
prudent  to  keep  sharp  lookout  on  the  justice  of  God 
before  risking  too  much  on  the  mercy  of  God.  They 
were,  furthermore,  loyal  Old  Testament  Christians, 
and  the  Jehovah  they  worshiped  was  a  jealous  God 
who  not  only  frowned  upon  their  service  to  the  gods 
of  the  worldly  and  frivolous,  but  smiled  upon  them 
when  they  smote  the  Amorites  and  the  Hivites  and 
the  Jehusites  and  the  Perrizzites,  and  drove  them  from 
their  lands.  Within  their  borders  there  was  no  place 
of  welcome  for  such  abominations  as  the  Baptists  and 
the  Jews. 

They  were  a  peculiar  and  separate  people,  were 
these  Pilgrims  and  Puritans ;  they  had  hearkened  unto 
[180] 


the  injunction:  Go  ye  out  from  among  them;  be  ye 
not  of  them.  But  in  their  separation  and  isolation 
they  laid  strong  the  foundations  of  a  social  and  na 
tional  life,  applying  thereto  the  Old  Testament  law 
of  right  and  wrong;  and  now  their  successors,  even 
they  who  have  differentiated  religion  from  the  state, 
still  recognize  in  piety  the  fact,  when  on  Thanksgiving 
Day  their  President  and  governors  bid  them  look  to 
the  Giver  of  all  gifts,  that  God  is  implicit  in  the  state, 
and  that  it  is  righteousness,  after  all,  which  exalt eth 
a  nation. 

From  the  narrow  theocratic  community  on  Massa 
chusetts  Bay,  which  laid  the  foundations  for  Thanks 
giving  Day,  it  is  a  long  step  to  the  broad  nation  of 
many  bloods  and  faiths,  which  holds  nothing  com 
mon  or  unclean  that  breathes  with  human  interest  or 
carries  the  divine  burden  of  human  fate.  And  yet, 
long  as  is  the  step,  that  nation  by  right  of  succession 
holds  in  its  keeping  still  the  sacred  ark  of  Thanks 
giving  Day,  now  become  a  national  feast,  and  conse 
crated  to  the  family  as  a  pillar  of  the  state  and  to  God 
as  the  Father  of  nations.  They  have  grown  and  wid 
ened  their  bounds  together — the  nation  and  the  day 
— until  now  they  belong  alike  in  common  possession 
to  Puritan  and  Cavalier,  to  Baptist,  Quaker,  Catholic, 
and  Jew.  And  therewith,  in  equal  step,  has  grown 
and  unfolded  man's  idea  of  God,  until  the  tribal  and 
sectarian  God  of  Bradford  and  of  Joshua  has  become 
the  God  of  all  the  peoples,  and  they  all  have  become 
brethren  of  one  another ;  whereby  is  fulfilled  the  far- 
reaching  message  of  the  Hebrew  prophet  who  was 
among  the  herdsmen  of  Tekoa:  "  Are  ye  not  as  the 
[181] 


children  of  the  Ethiopians  unto  me,  O  children  of 
Israel?  saith  the  Lord.  Have  not  I  brought  up  Israel 
out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  the  Philistines  from 
Caphtor,  and  the  Syrians  from  Kir?  " 

The  broad  national  religion  represented  in  this  in 
stitution  of  Thanksgiving  Day  unites  us  all  of  many 
bloods  and  many  faiths  in  the  one  sacred  bond  of  our 
national  life  under  the  flag ;  our  separate  traditions  of 
the  struggles,  the  griefs,  and  the  triumphs  of  our 
fathers,  of  the  songs  they  sang,  of  the  things  they 
loved,  of  the  monuments  they  reared,  of  the  faiths  by 
which  they  lived  and  died — shall  inspire  us  each  after 
our  sort,  though  none  can  match  the  birthright  issu 
ing  from  the  tradition  that  is  graven  in  the  life  and 
record  of  Israel.  But  above  our  separate  interests  and 
our  separate  inheritances  rises  majestic  the  great  com 
mon  heritage  of  the  nation  and  the  nation's  faith, 
whose  creed  is  liberty  to  think  and  speak,  freedom  of 
opportunity  and  a  square  deal  among  the  sons  of 
men. 


[182] 


THE   INFLUENCE   OF   AMERICANISM 
UPON  THE   JEW 

Address  by  REV.  DR.  JACOB  VOORSANGER 

From  Abraham  to  Solomon  one  thousand  years ; 
from  Solomon  to  the  second  destruction  of  the  Tem 
ple  another  thousand  years;  from  that  event  until 
date  nearly  two  thousand  years.  The  history  of  the 
Jew  denationalized  covers  nearly  twice  the  period  of 
the  rise,  growth,  decline,  and  fall  of  his  nation. 
That  is  a  pregnant  thought,  for  it  is  not  generally 
understood  that  the  best  things  of  Israel  acknowl 
edge  a  cradle  not  Palestinian.  The  country  of  our 
fathers  hath  seen  much  of  spiritual  glory;  aye,  we 
can  never  forget  it,  for  "  out  of  Zion  came  forth  the 
law  and  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem."  The 
spiritual  influences  of  our  ancient  home  remain  funda 
mental  in  the  development  and  expansion  of  the  Jew 
ish  spirit  wherever  it  manifests  itself  and  whenever  it 
finds  opportunity ;  this  once  admitted  and  recognized, 
we  meet  with  remarkable  evidence  of  the  wonderful 
plasticity  of  the  Jew.  It  is  our  boast  that  this  Jew 
has  contributed  to  the  upbuilding  of  every  country; 
we  might  go  further  and  admit  that  every  country 
has  contributed  to  his  upbuilding.  The  process  was 
mutual;  only  the  Jew  nationalized  everywhere,  ab 
sorbing  elements  of  national  culture,  could  have  be 
come  a  factor  in  the  processes  that  encompass  national 
growth  and  development.  This  principle  of  mutual 
ity  constitutes  one  of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in 
Jewish  history.  Already  in  Biblical  times  it  mani- 
[183] 


fests  itself.  The  plastic  spirit  of  Israel,  unfettered 
to  any  soil,  makes  Babylon  the  stage  of  one  of  the 
eras  of  its  literature.  Ezekiel,  the  second  Isaiah,  Job, 
and  a  number  of  the  Psalmists,  maintain  the  classic 
genius  of  the  paternal  tongue  on  foreign  soil,  un 
daunted  by  the  aspects  of  captivity  which  the  Israel- 
itish  colonies  in  the  Mesopotamian  Valley  might  pre 
sent.  But,  leaving  this  early  chapter  unconsidered, 
there  are  later  chapters  that  attest  the  remarkable 
influence  of  nationalism  upon  the  Jew  and  his  capacity 
to  vindicate  the  genius  of  his  race  as  modified  by  its 
environments.  We  have  time  for  but  one  or  two  illus 
trations.  The  story  of  the  Jews  of  Alexandria  is  pos 
sibly  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  those  illustrations. 
It  presents  the  Jew  completely  Hellenized.  If  we  re 
member  that  Palestinian  culture  represents  those  cen 
turies  of  repugnance  of  and  opposition  to  Hellenism, 
that,  in  point  of  fact,  the  Maccabean  revolt  was  a 
violent  reaction  toward  a  purer  national  life  and  a 
religion  uninfluenced  by  modern  thought,  we  may 
anticipate  the  rigid  contrast  between  the  Jew  of  Jeru 
salem  and  the  Jew  of  Alexandria.  And  yet  this 
Egyptian  Jew,  this  Alexandrian  fallen  under  the 
sway  of  the  Hellenic  cult,  has  his  own  distinguished 
story — and  we  own  it  with  pride.  For  this  Hellenist, 
this  Greco-Judean,  becomes  the  medium  of  communi 
cation  between  the  genius  of  Israel  and  the  pagan 
world,  and  the  Greek  Hexameters  of  the  Sibyllines, 
the  Golden  Texts  of  the  Seventy,  the  symbolism  of 
Philo-Judaeus  and  the  philosophic  systems  of  the 
Gnostics  become  sources  of  inspiration  through  which 
the  nascent  Christian  faith  becomes  intelligible  to 
[184] 


both  Greek  and  Roman.  Alexandrian  Judaism  is 
the  mother  of  Paulinian  Christianity,  which  carries  to 
the  furthest  confines  of  the  world  the  Messianic  teach 
ings  of  its  master,  albeit  under  aspects  and  conditions 
of  interpretation  the  mother  has  never  been  able  to 
sanction.  But  we  must  travel  onward  and  move  rap 
idly,  for  fraught  as  is  the  subject  with  interesting  de 
tails,  we  can  present  but  the  barest  outlines.  As 
Alexandrian  Judaism  survives  the  decay  of  the  Jew 
ish  nation,  so  is  Palestinian  Judaism  perpetuated  long 
after  the  same  catastrophe  by  the  transplanting  of  its 
schools  to  the  old  stamping  ground  of  Israel,  the 
cradle  of  its  remote  ancestry  and  the  home  of  some 
of  its  most  illustrious  poets.  Back  to  Babylon  ven 
tures  the  Jew  and  scatters  over  the  extent  of  the 
classic  valley,  from  Tadmor  in  the  desert  along  the 
old  routes,  until  he  claims  a  home  everywhere,  from 
the  Caspian  to  the  Gulf  of  Persia,  but  mainly  concen 
trates  in  the  old  localities ;  Babylon  becomes  the  cen 
ter  of  a  Jewish  culture  that  in  extent  and  importance 
retains  its  hold  upon  the  Jew  of  to-day.  The  country 
becomes  subject  to  various  political  agitations;  Par 
thian  and  Roman,  Persian  and  Moslem,  succeed  each 
other,  but  the  Jew  becomes  again  the  heir  of  the 
thousand  years  of  empire,  and  while  they  pass  away, 
he  remains  and  writes  his  chapter  of  history.  The 
revival  of  commerce  and  culture  under  the  successors 
of  Mohammed  finds  him  prepared  for  his  work.  Do 
mesticated,  naturalized,  and  his  speech  attuned  to  the 
kindred  languages  of  the  Orient,  he  becomes  a  power 
ful  trader,  a  banker,  a  manufacturer,  but,  above  all,  a 
scholar.  His  universities  appear  in  the  valley  bounded 
[  185  ] 


by  the  rivers  and  canals  of  Babylonia,  and  the  decay 
ing  temples  of  the  Sungod  look  down  in  amazement 
upon  the  synagogues  of  Israel.  The  Babylonian  Tal 
mud,  most  monumental  of  legal  commentaries,  great 
est  testimony  of  the  complexity  as  well  as  astuteness 
and  refinement  of  the  Jewish  mind,  the  activities  of 
the  later  compilers  and  the  Gaonim,  as  well  as  the 
political  achievements  of  the  Princes  of  the  Exile,  rep 
resent  the  Babylonian  Jew  as  nationalized ;  that  is  to 
say,  as  subject  to  the  environments  within  which,  nev 
ertheless,  the  Jewish  genius  is  fully  at  play.  From 
Babylon  to  Spain  is  a  long  stretch,  yet  Spain  is  the 
successor  of  Babylon,  and  there,  in  Spain,  he  writes 
another,  if  not  his  most  glorious  chapter.  Dwelling 
with  the  Moors  in  Andalusia,  and  with  the  Christian 
in  Aragon  and  Castile,  the  Spanish  Jew  is  perhaps 
the  most  notable  instance  of  a  people  domesticated, 
naturalized,  and  so  enabled  to  contribute  to  the  growth 
of  its  home.  We  are  wont  to  look  upon  the  spiritual 
and  literary  achievements  of  the  Spanish  Jews  as  their 
highest  contribution  to  the  modern  history  of  Israel ; 
and  with  every  warrant  for  doing  so,  we  are  apt  to  for 
get  that  the  Jew — more  as  Spaniard  than  as  Jew — 
contributes  to  the  history  of  Spain  a  similarly  illumi 
nated  chapter.  For,  in  addition  to  his  super-eminent 
scholarship,  in  addition  to  his  poetic  genius,  kissed  into 
life  by  the  bright  skies  of  the  peninsula,  the  five  cen 
turies  of  his  residence  in  Spain  made  him  the  backbone 
of  its  industries,  the  mover  of  its  potencies.  A  vine- 
yardist  in  Andalusia,  a  banker  in  Sevilla  and  Toledo, 
a  statesman  in  Granada,  a  mountaineer  in  the  Guade- 
lajara  Range,  a  cosmographer  and  navigator  in  Palos 

[186] 


and  Cadiz,  a  professor  at  the  universities,  a  statesman 
and  politician  at  the  courts  of  the  Moslem  caliphs  and 
the  Christian  kings,  from  the  time  of  Tarik's  inva 
sion  until  the  doom  of  unmerited  exile  fell  upon  him, 
such  was  the  Spanish  Jew,  more  completely  nation 
alized  in  Spain,  than  were  the  descendants  of  Romans 
or  Goths  in  his  time.  But  this  genius  of  Israel  that, 
stimulated  within  the  environments  of  every  country, 
constitutes  itself  a  factor  in  every  aspect  of  civiliza 
tion,  seems  really  to  possess  that  wonderful  plasticity 
that  we  have  attributed  to  it,  for  it  can  produce  an 
Egyptian  Moses,  a  Canaanitish  Samuel,  a  Babylonian 
Isaiah ;  again,  an  Egyptian  Philo ;  again,  a  Babylo 
nian  Samuel ;  again,  an  Egyptian  Saadiah,  a  Spanish 
Gabirol  and  a  French  Rashi,  and  in  later  centuries  a 
Dutch  Spinoza,  a  German  Heine,  an  English  Dis 
raeli,  and  an  American  Benjamin.  These  names,  pro 
nounced  offhand,  are  fairly  representative  of  the  im 
portant  principle  we  have  here  sought  to  enunciate, 
namely :  that  the  preservation  of  the  Jewish  people,  as 
such,  results  from  the  operation  of  mutuality  in  the 
sense  that,  while  on  the  one  hand  the  Jew  everywhere 
contributes  his  power  and  his  genius  to  the  service  of 
the  people  among  whom  he  lives,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  contribution  is  made  possible  by  his  becoming 
subject  to  his  environments  in  a  far  greater  measure 
than  perhaps  we  have  hitherto  believed.  It  is  that 
influence  of  environment  that  nationalizes  the  Jew 
everywhere,  and  nowhere  in  so  marked  a  degree  as  in 
the  United  States. 

But  at  this  point  we  may  ask  a  pertinent  question : 
What   do  we  understand  by  nationalism  and,  in  a 
[187] 


special  sense,  by  Americanism?  A  definition  at  this 
time  would  obviously  be  too  technical.  Nationalism  is 
the  expression  of  a  homogeneity  that  represents  na 
tionhood  in  a  highly  developed  stage.  It  is  the  spirit 
of  a  nation  in  contrast  with  the  spirit  of  another  na 
tion,  it  is  the  development  of  the  genius  of  a  nation 
finally  lodged  within  its  geographical  limitations. 
Americanism  answers  to  these  conditions  and  qualifica 
tions.  It  is  the  expression  of  a  people  upon  which 
the  spirit  of  homogeneity  begins  to  operate,  a  people 
that  in  its  physical  and  intellectual  characteristics  be 
gins  to  be  differentiated  from  other  people  and  na 
tions  ;  a  people  that  has  fallen  under  the  influence  of 
the  climatic  conditions  of  its  own  country  and  so 
begins  to  present  different  aspects  of  thought,  lan 
guage,  genius,  and  religion.  Now  what  can  be,  what 
is,  the  influence  of  this  Americanism  upon  the  Jew? 
In  answering  this  question  we  must  speak  with  some 
degree  of  caution ;  for,  first,  it  is  contended  that  what 
is  here  called  Americanism  is  still  in  the  making,  and 
secondly,  the  entire  Jewish  community  in  the  United 
States,  of  necessity,  has  not  yet  become  thoroughly 
Americanized.  It  is  impossible  to  draw  a  parallel  be 
tween  this  community  and,  say,  the  communities  of 
Egypt  or  Spain.  Here  new  conditions  are  created 
and  new  principles  are  operating.  The  main  fact  to 
be  considered  is,  that  while  we  celebrate  the  two  hun 
dred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the 
Jews  in  North  America,  the  greatest  proportion  of  the 
present  population  of  the  United  States  dates  its  ad 
vent  from  but  two  decades  ago.  Twenty-three  Jews 
arrived  on  the  St.  Catarina  in  1654;  during  the 
[188] 


War  of  Independence  there  were  barely  3,000  Jews 
in  the  entire  country;  the  principal  influx  previous 
to  the  Civil  War  came  from  the  German  and  Polish  im 
migration  of  1850.     Before  1880  there  were  barely 
250,000  Jews  in  the  entire  United  States,  north  and 
south;  to-day  there  are  one  and  a  half  million,  of 
whom,   consequently,  a  million  and   a  quarter  came 
within  the  last  twenty-five  years.    If  we  recollect  that 
the  creation  of  a  national,  homogeneous  spirit  is  the 
slow  work  of  ages,  we  can  understand  why  we  must 
speak  with  some  care  of  the  influence  of  Americanism 
upon  the  Jew.     And  yet,  notwithstanding,  there  are 
marvelous  facts  to  relate.    In  the  first  place,  if  we  ap 
ply  the  principle  to  the  early  Jewish  settlers  and  to  the 
immigrants  of  the  fifties,  we  can  already  perceive  to 
what  marked  degree  the  Jew  is  Americanized  and  as 
such   has   contributed   more  than   his   proportionate 
share  to  the  growth  of  the  country.     It  would  only 
be  necessary  to  refer  to  the  Jewish  planters  of  South 
Carolina  and  the  puissant  Jewish  merchants  of  Geor 
gia  and  Louisiana,  to  prove  how  quickly  the  processes 
of  nationalization  operate  on  the  Jew.     The  names 
of  the  Jewish  soldiers  and  merchants  of  the  revolu 
tionary  period,  the  names  of  the  Jewish  statesmen  and 
jurists  of  the  South — Moses  de  Lyon,  Judah  P.  Ben 
jamin,  David  Yulee,  Solomon  Heydenfeldt — furnish 
the  evidence  of  the  operation  of  the  national  spirit 
upon  the  Jew,  when  once  he  has  been  domesticated  and 
has  become  as  one  with  the  people  of  his  adoption. 
The  muster  rolls  of  the  Northern  armies  adduce  an  elo 
quent  and  powerful  testimony  to  what  German  Jewish 
boys  thought  of  their  adopted  country  only  a  decade 
[189] 


after  their  arrival ;  again  the  muster  rolls  of  the  Con 
federacy,  along  with  thousands  of  German  Jewish 
names,  contain,  almost  without  any  exception,  the 
names  of  the  latest  descendants  of  the  old  Spanish 
and  Anglo- Jewish  families,  many  of  whom  died  an 
honorable  death  upon  the  battle  field.  It  is  singular 
indeed  how  quickly  the  Jew  becomes  domesticated 
and  is  inspired  to  offer  his  services  to  his  country. 
The  Jewish  soldiers  of  both  North  and  South,  with 
the  exceptions  noted,  were  almost  entirely  foreigners, 
and  this  remarkable  devotion  can  only  be  attributed 
to  the  lively  affection  Jews  all  over  the  world  enter 
tain  for  this  country,  the  home  of  liberty  and  honor 
able  opportunity.  The  English  and  German  Jews 
became  a  great  power  here ;  in  commerce,  in  manu 
factures,  in  finance,  in  international  trade,  in  poli 
tics,  in  science  and  art,  they  interweave  their  tre 
mendous  energy  and  industry  with  those  of  the 
people.  From  Maine  to  California,  from  New  York  to 
Texas,  the  German  Jew  in  an  incredibly  short  period 
becomes  domesticated,  and  not  only  in  the  counting 
house,  but  in  the  schools  of  the  country,  in  the  halls 
of  council,  aye,  in  every  form  of  expression  that  rep 
resents  national  culture,  civilization,  and  progress,  he 
contributes  of  his  best,  stimulated  by  the  operation  of 
mutuality,  a  principle  that,  because  it  made  him  an 
American,  enabled  him  to  remain  Jew,  and  so  give  as 
much  as  he  received.  Were  sufficient  time  allotted  me 
I  would  be  able  to  produce  the  list  of  eminent  men  and 
women  of  German  Jewish  extraction,  who,  now  thor 
oughly  Americanized,  have  become  potent  factors  in 
the  life  of  the  American  people.  How  then  stands 
[190] 


the  case  with  the  million  and  more  of  the  immigrants 
of  recent  date?     I  feel  happy  indeed,  that,  on  this 
particular    day    of    historical    reminiscence,    I    may 
speak  of  them  in  the  liveliest  terms  of  appreciation. 
The  country  must  have  been  astounded  when,  at  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Spanish  War  in  1898,  a  regiment 
of  Russian  Jews  at  New  York,  and  another  at  Phila 
delphia,  all  men  who  had  seen  service  in  the  armies 
of  the  Czar,  promptly  offered  their  services  to  Presi 
dent  McKinley  of  honorable  and  illustrious  memory ; 
that,  at  least,  was  an  evidence  of  the  patriotism  of 
which  the  Russian  Jew  is  capable.     But  here  other 
factors  enter  into  the  discussion.     The  Russian  Jew 
represents  at  the  present  time  the  most  gifted  element 
in  Jewry.     He  has  carried  the  Jewish  center  of  grav 
ity  with  him  to  New  York  City.    Three-quarters  of  a 
million  of  Jews,  a  population  nearly  as  large  as  the  en 
tire  population  of  Palestine  in  more  than  one  of  its  his 
torical  periods,  are  in  that  great  metropolis  alone,  and 
it  is  stupid  indeed  to  assume  or  to  conclude  that  they 
are  mere  soldiers  of  fortune,  poverty-stricken  wander 
ers,  whose  ignorance  keeps  them  from  contact  with  the 
American  spirit.     The  reverse  is  true.     This  remark 
able  population  contains,  in  more  than  a  proportion 
ate  degree,  scholars,  artists,  poets,  philosophers,  dis 
tinguished  orators,  and  litterateurs,  an  army  of  choice 
spirits  with  whom  Americanization  will  be  but  a  ques 
tion  of  time,  when  they  will  fully  enter  into  the  life 
of  the  country.     In  fact  they  have  already  done  so. 
At  the  present  day  they  furnish  already  a  consider 
able  force  in  the  service  of  the  country  and  its  people. 
Russian  Jews  have  entered  the  universities;  they  are 
[191] 


among  the  most  capable  teachers  in  the  public  schools ; 
as  pamphleteers,  essayists,  and  journalists  they 
scarcely  have  equals ;  and  the  growing  popularity  of 
certain  classes  of  literature  with  which  he  is  identified 
bears  testimony  to  his  influence.  In  commerce  he 
forges  ahead ;  the  immigrant  of  yesterday  is  to-mor 
row's  millionaire ;  the  poor  "  sweater  "  of  a  decade 
ago  is  to-day  a  manufacturer;  and  the  tremendous 
energy  of  this  gifted  people  is  becoming  a  factor  in 
the  industrial  life  of  the  United  States.  Now,  if  so 
much  can  be  accomplished  in  two  decades,  what  must 
be  the  result,  looking  ahead  a  century?  What  will 
not  the  national  spirit  achieve  for  them?  Trained  in 
the  schools  of  the  country,  their  genius  modified  by 
national  environments,  their  souls  freed  from  the  an 
guish  of  decades  of  persecution,  what  will  be  the 
future  of  this  new  Jewry  of  the  United  States,  welded 
into  a  homogeneous  unit  with  the  older  elements  from 
Germany,  from  England,  from  Spain,  from  France 
and  the  Indies?  It  is  folly  to  venture  upon  predic 
tions — yet  there  are  parallels,  the  parallels  of  Egypt, 
of  Babylon,  of  Spain,  of  England,  to  determine  at 
least  a  glowing,  eloquent  hope  that  these  Redeemed 
of  the  Lord,  in  the  years  to  come,  will  render  as  illus 
trious  service  to  their  country  and  their  nation  as 
their  forbears  did  in  the  centuries  agone  under  diffi 
culties  that  can  never  present  themselves  in  this  blessed 
land  of  liberty !  And  here  we  may  rest  the  case — 
content  that  the  American  Jew  will  give  a  brave  ac 
count  of  himself  in  the  chronicles  that  will  record  the 
achievements  of  this  great  American  nation!  And 
may  this  Jew  of  the  new  hemisphere,  may  he  remain 
[192] 


loyal  to  the  two  great  principles  his  cognomen  indi 
cates.  May  he  be  loyal  American  and  loyal  Jew,  true 
to  the  influence  and  the  spirit  that  made  him  an  Amer 
ican,  true  to  the  influence  and  the  spirit  that  endow 
him  with  the  historic  aspects  of  the  Jew !  If  he  will, 
who  knows  but  that  he  will  parallel  the  eloquent  page 
of  the  Spaniard,  and  that  he,  the  American  Jew,  will 
brighten  the  record  of  American  history  with  the 
noblest  intellectual  achievements  ? 


[193] 


LETTER   FROM   GOVERNOR   FOLK,    OF 
MISSOURI 

DEAR  SIR:  Your  letter  of  the  21st  instant  re 
ceived.  I  thank  you,  and  through  you  those  who 
have  joined  in  extending  this  invitation  to  me  to  ad 
dress  your  people  at  Temple  Shaare  Emeth  on 
Thanksgiving  morning.  I  regret,  however,  that  be 
cause  of  engagements  already  made,  it  will  not  be 
practicable  for  me  to  meet  your  wish. 

In  common  with  the  whole  civilized  world,  I  have 
read  with  the  deepest  feeling  of  regret  and  sympathy 
the  outrages  to  which  the  Jewish  people  in  Russia 
have  been  subjected.  Like  the  martyrs  of  old,  they 
have  given  up  their  lives  for  their  faith,  and  their 
going  cannot  but  be  a  splendid  example  to  their 
brethren  throughout  the  world. 

Already  a  mighty  movement  is  being  fostered,  look 
ing  to  the  relief  of  those  who  have  escaped,  and  it  is 
felt  and  believed  throughout  this  State  that  the  Rus 
sian  Government  must  soon  take  cognizance  of  this 
slaughter  of  the  innocents,  to  the  end  that  they  may 
be  sheltered  under  the  strong  arm  of  the  law,  and 
once  more  be  permitted  to  become  citizens  in  fact. 

Missouri  will  do  her  part  toward  bringing  about 
this  needed  reform,  and  offers  a  home  among  a  people 
who  recognize  the  right  of  religious  worship  to  all 
who  may  come  to  become  citizens  of  this  Common 
wealth,  where  virtue  is  honored  and  God  is  wor 
shiped  according  to  the  dictates  of  the  individual 
conscience. 

Our  Jewish  fellow-citizens  have  always  been  loyal 
[194] 


and  public  spirited,  and  the  State  of  Missouri  cannot 
better  be  promoted  than  by  such  citizens,  who  alone 
make  the  best  success  of  the  nation.  I  congratulate 
them  upon  this  spirit,  and  trust  as  well  that  they  will 
continue  to  be  factors  for  good,  like  all  their  fellow- 
citizens  who  love  their  country  with  a  true  and  un 
selfish  patriotism. 

JOSEPH  W.  FOLK. 


[195] 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 


SELECTED    EDITORIAL    UTTERANCES 
FROM    THE    NEWSPAPER   PRESS 

(The  celebration  evoked  appropriate  editorial  utter 
ances  in  the  newspapers  of  the  country,  North  and 
South,  East  and  West,  several  hundred  of  these 
having  come  to  the  notice  of  the  Committee.  With 
so  many  interesting  and  suggestive  editorials  to 
choose  from,  the  task  of  selecting  a  few  as  typical 
was  necessarily  a  difficult  one.  As,  however,  space 
requirements  rendered  it  impracticable  to  choose 
more  than  a  dozen  of  these  interesting  and  spon 
taneous  utterances  concerning  American  Jewish 
citizenship,  it  was  concluded  to  make  the  selection 
with  reference  not  merely  to  the  character  and  in 
terest  of  the  particular  editorial,  but  also  so  as 
fairly  to  reflect  the  sentiments  of  papers  repre 
senting  varying  opinions  and  geographical  loca 
tion.  This  will  explain  the  following  rather  arbi 
trary  selection  of  editorials,  all  of  which  were  pub 
lished  on  or  about  Thanksgiving  Day,  1905.) 


THE    HEBREW   IN  AMERICA 

FROM  THE  Atlanta  Constitution 

The  coming  of  the  Hebrew  to  America  was  even 
more  of  a  release  from  oppression  to  full  liberty  than 
was  that  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers,  and  the  condition 
[199] 


of  the  Jew  in  Russia  to-day  makes  the  historical 
reason  for  this  emigration  two  centuries  and  a  half 
ago  appear  doubly  significant,  invested  as  it  is  with 
such  modern  significance.  The  chapter  Russia  is  fur 
nishing  on  Jewish  persecution  reads  as  if  it  were  ex 
tracted  from  a  history  of  the  dark  ages,  when  the 
Jew  was  every  nation's  prey  and  every  man's  victim. 

The  Hebrew  population  of  the  United  States  very 
generally  observed  the  anniversary  in  question,  meet 
ing  in  their  synagogues  on  Thanksgiving  Day  to 
commemorate  the  arrival  toward  the  end  of  1654  of 
the  first  Jewish  settlers  on  the  soil  of  what  is  now  the 
United  States,  but  what  was  then  a  Dutch  colony. 
Writing  of  the  celebration,  Mr.  Max  J.  Kohler,  secre 
tary  of  the  American  Jewish  Historical  Society,  said : 

"  The  approaching  Thanksgiving  Day  will  thus 
have  a  special  significance  for  the  million  and  a  quar 
ter  of  Jews  residing  in  this  land,  who  will  then  invoke 
God's  blessing  upon  this  beloved  country,  which  first 
among  the  nations  of  modern  times  recognized  the 
Jew's  title  to  all  the  rights  of  man,  and  permitted 
him,  in  common  with  all  other  members  of  the  body 
politic,  to  worship  the  Almighty  Father  according  to 
the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience." 

One  of  the  results  of  the  impressive  celebration  in 
Carnegie  Hall,  New  York  City,  Thursday,  was  the 
establishment  of  a  fund  for  the  erection  of  a  perma 
nent  memorial  in  New  York. 

The  Jew  not  only  found  liberty  in  America  in  the 

fullest  sense,  but  he  found  brotherhood   among  the 

composite  population  of  the  United  States.     And  in 

return  for  this  liberty  and  brotherly  treatment  he  has 

[200] 


given  the  great  republic  one  of  its  highest  types  of 
citizenship.  The  American  Hebrew  is  statistically 
proven  to  be  the  most  valuable  kind  of  a  citizen.  He 
is  among  our  largest  property  holders  and  taxpayers ; 
he  is  in  the  vanguard  of  all  progressive  moral  and 
material  movements ;  he  is  a  large  contributor  to  phi 
lanthropy,  education,  and  charity;  he  is  generally 
to  be  found  on  the  side  of  good  government  and  civic 
purity,  regardless  of  partisanship,  and  he  does  not 
contribute  to  the  burden  of  government  by  furnishing 
an  appreciable  per  cent  of  its  criminals  and  paupers. 
The  Jew  is  everywhere  acknowledged  to  be  a  first-class 
American  citizen,  and  since  the  foundation  of  our  pres 
ent  national  life  his  exemplary  conduct  as  citizen  and 
man  has  earned  for  him  the  respect  and  fellowship  of 
all  Americans. 

To-day,  in  every  city  of  the  Union,  the  Jewish  por 
tion  of  the  population  is  a  part  of  its  civic  backbone 
and  moral  sinew,  as  well  as  among  its  most  responsible 
material  assets.  It  is  so  in  Atlanta,  as  every  citizen  of 
Atlanta  knows.  The  Hebrew  has  made  a  great  rec 
ord  in  the  United  States,  one  of  which  all  Americans 
are  proud. 


THE   JEWISH  RACE 

FROM  THE  Boston  Post 

The  celebration  of  the  two   hundred  and  fiftieth 
anniversary    of   the    arrival    of    immigrants    of    the 
Jewish    race    in    this    country    was    very    appropri- 
[201] 


ately  made  upon  the  day  of  the  National  Thanks 
giving.  For  here,  in  this  republic  of  equal  rights 
and  freedom  of  endeavor  as  well  as  of  belief, 
this  people  have  found  their  most  prosperous  develop 
ment.  And  this  has  come  to  them,  not  as  a  class  or  as 
separatists  in  blood  or  in  religion,  but  as  Americans, 
members  of  the  great  commonwealth.  The  first  Jew 
ish  immigrants  came  to  America  from  Brazil,  fleeing 
the  intolerance  of  the  Portuguese  rule  in  that  land. 
They  bore  their  share  in  the  struggle  for  independence 
of  the  colonies,  but  even  so  late  as  a  century  ago  their 
number  in  the  entire  Union  hardly  exceeded  2,000. 
To-day  the  enumeration  would  reach  more  than  a  mil 
lion  and  a  half.  Largely  they  have  come,  as  did  the 
first  small  colony  from  Brazil,  to  escape  persecution 
in  Europe ;  and  nothing  more  remarkable  is  presented 
in  the  history  of  this  nation  than  the  adaptation  of 
these  people  to  the  environment  of  liberty  and  to  ex 
pansion  under  the  sunlight  of  free  institutions. 

The  United  States  now  stands  third  among  the 
countries  of  the  world  in  its  Jewish  population.  In 
Russia,  where  the  lot  of  the  Jews  is  the  hardest  and 
their  oppression  the  most  cruel,  they  number  about 
5,000,000;  in  Austria-Hungary  about  2,000,000; 
in  the  United  States  about  1,600,000.  Relatively  to 
the  immigration  of  other  races,  they  have  not  come  in 
great  numbers.  In  the  latter  half  of  the  last  century 
there  was  a  German  immigration  of  about  5,000,000, 
and  of  Irish  about  3,750,000.  Even  the  last  census 
showed  that  more  than  2,500,00  of  our  population 
were  of  German  birth  and  nearly  1,750,000  of  Irish 
birth.  The  population  of  foreign  parentage,  or  with 
[202] 


one  or  both  parents  foreign,  numbered  26,198,939, 
and  of  these  nearly  8,000,000  were  German  and 
5,000,000  Irish.  In  1900  we  had  more  people  of 
Canadian  birth  by  half  a  million  than  of  Jews.  Even 
the  immigration  from  the  Scandinavian  countries  has 
been  about  as  great  as  the  Jewish  during  the  last  fifty 
years.  The  Italians  did  not  begin  to  come  over  in  any 
large  numbers  till  1880,  yet  they  are  now  here  by 
more  than  a  million. 

The  mere  numerical  comparison,  however,  does  not 
tell  the  whole  story  by  any  means.    The  Jewish  immi 
grants  who  come  in  with  an  average  wealth  of  only 
fifteen  dollars  each,  as  appears  from  the  statistics  of 
the  immigration  bureau,  have  shown  a  notable  ability 
to  take  care  of  themselves.    They  become  self-support 
ing    with    great    rapidity,    and    prosperity    follows. 
They  are  dependent  only  in  the  smallest  degree  upon 
charitable  assistance  outside  of  that  which  is  furnished 
by  the  benevolent  organizations  of  their  own  race. 
Their  independence  is  a  fitting  development  of  the 
character  which  we  feel  proud  to  call  American.    And 
not  only  in  trade  and  finance,  but  in  literature,  in  art, 
in  the  learned  professions,  the  talent  possessed  by  these 
people  makes  a  distinctly  recognizable  mark  in  the 
schedule  of  our  national  greatness.     "  What  our  Jew 
ish  fellow-citizens  have  done  to  increase  the  material 
advancement    of    the    United    States,"    said    Grover 
Cleveland  in  his  address  at  the  New  York  meeting, 
"  is  apparent  on  every  hand  and  must  stand  confessed. 
But  the  best  and  highest  Americanism  is  something 
more  than  materialistic.    Its  spirit,  which  should  make 
it  imperishable  and  immortal,  exists  in  its  patriotic 
[203] 


aspirations  and  exalting  traditions.  On  this  higher 
plane  of  our  nationality  and  in  the  atmosphere  of 
ennobling  sentiment,  we  also  feel  the  touch  of  Jewish 
relationship." 


THE   JEWISH    CELEBRATION 

FROM  THE  Brooklyn  Eagle 

The  celebration  of  the  first  settlement  of  the 
Jews  on  Manhattan  Island  was  observed  in  Carnegie 
Hall,  Thanksgiving  Day.  The  purpose  was  to  sig 
nalize  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  that 
event.  The  occasion  was  marked  by  a  thoughtful 
speech  from  Grover  Cleveland,  by  a  searching  letter 
from  President  Roosevelt,  by  a  notable  address  de 
livered  by  Bishop  Greer,  and  by  addresses  by  members 
of  the  Jewish  race  and  faith  who  stand  in  high  rela 
tions  to  their  order.  Among  the  latter  was  Judge 
Sulzberger  of  Philadelphia.  Governor  Higgins  was 
also  heard  from  in  words  of  marked  thoughtfulness 
and  sympathy.  The  address  of  Mayor  McClellan  was 
excellent  in  itself  and  was  marked  by  that  earnest 
manner  which  renders  anything  from  him  most  im 
pressive.  The  presiding  officer  was  Jacob  Schiff,  the 
well-known  financier.  It  is  understood  that  a  verbatim 
account  of  the  occasion  will  be  printed  in  the  principal 
Jewish  papers.  That  account  could  well  receive  large 
circulation  among  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews,  for  the 
meeting  was  an  historical  celebration  of  what  has  come 
to  be  an  historical  event. 


Like  many  historical  facts,  the  beginning  of  this 
one  was  humble,  and  its  enormous  consequences  were 
unforeseen.    Jews  who  had  been  crowded  out  of  Portu 
gal,  who  were  then  cold-shouldered  out  of  Brazil,  and 
who  in  vain  sought  opportunity  in  the  West  Indies, 
came  to  New  Amsterdam,  whence  Peter  Stuyvesant 
sought  to  extrude  them,  but  where  asylum  was  given 
to  them  by  his  superiors  in  Holland.     Their  right  of 
freehold,  of  military  service,  and  of  citizenship  at  last 
came,  but  generations  were  required  for  them  to  at 
tain  all  of  those  rights  and,  at  the  first,  each  of  them 
was  to  a  degree  restricted.     They  are  elsewhere  re 
stricted  to  this  day,  but  the  places  are  few,  and  all 
bans   or    disqualifications   are    being   lifted.    At    the 
present  time  the  tragedy  of  the  world  is  the  situation 
in  Russia.     Much  of  that  tragedy  is  due  to  or  is 
marked  by  the  oppression  of  the  Jews,  and  much  of  it 
may  be  said  to  be  a  punishment  for  such  oppression. 

We  need  not  consider  too  closely  the  causes  which 
render  the  oppression  of  the  Jew  a  satire  on  civiliza 
tion  and  the  pathos  of  history.  That  the  treatment 
had  its  text  or  pretext  in  what  men  call  religion  can 
be  conceded.  That  such  religion  is  becoming  dis 
counted  and  notably  reformed  is  evident.  The  the 
ology,  the  history,  and  the  poetry  of  the  past  abound 
with  chapters  of  persecution  of  the  Jews  because  of 
religion,  and,  to  a  degree,  with  persecution  by  the 
Jews  for  the  same  reason,  or  in  the  same  name.  The 
disappearance  of  persecution,  the  upcome  of  tolera 
tion,  the  recrudescence  of  liberality,  are  the  excellent 
features  of  modern  times. 

It  can  be  said  that  few  republics,  if  any,  have  de- 
[205] 


nied  freedom  of  thought  and  freedom  of  worship,  and 
that  very  few  monarchies,  if  any,  whether  despotisms 
or  whether  constitutional  forms  of  rule,  have  escaped 
periods  in  which  persecution  has  not  been  a  recourse 
or  a  habit.  Where  the  people  now  govern,  through  a 
republic  in  fact  or  in  form,  in  form  as  in  the  United 
States  and  in  France,  in  fact  as  in  Great  Britain, 
Italy,  Sweden,  Norway,  and  the  like,  persecution  of 
Jews  does  not  now  occur.  In  monarchies,  "  broad- 
based  upon  the  people's  will,"  such  persecution,  if  once 
practiced,  has  since  ceased.  The  measure  of  govern 
mental  freedom  is,  therefore,  the  measure  of  religious 
freedom. 

It  is  the  glory  of  the  United  States  that  since  the 
establishment  of  the  republic  in  1776,  and  even  before 
the  promulgation  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  free 
dom  of  religion  has  absolutely  prevailed  in  this  nation. 
It  did  not  prevail  in  all  of  the  colonies,  from  which  the 
republic  was  formed,  but  it  did  in  most  of  them.  It 
prevailed  at  an  earlier  period  in  the  Middle  and  in  the 
Southern  colonies  than  in  some  of  the  Eastern  ones. 
But  it  eventually  prevailed  in  all  parts  of  New  Eng 
land  and  in  Maryland,  which  were  the  slowest  to  con 
cede  it.  We  should  like  to  be  able  to  give  to  New 
York,  whether  as  a  colony  or  as  a  State,  the  primary 
credit  of  the  largest  liberty  and  the  broadest  tolera 
tion.  That  credit,  however,  belongs  to  Rhode  Island, 
and  is  due  to  Roger  Williams,  who  was  crowded  out 
of  Massachusetts,  and  who  in  Rhode  Island  proclaimed 
what  he  called  "  soul  liberty,"  a  phrase  and  a  fact 
which  entitle  him  to  the  immortality  that  he  has  won. 

The  meeting  in  Carnegie  Hall  cast  neither  praise 
[206] 


nor  blame  on  the  past.    It  did  not  seek  to  account  for 
it,  to  atone  for  it,  or  to  moralize  it.    The  meeting  was 
content  to  note  and  to  applaud  the  toleration  of  the 
present  and  the  spread  and  dominance  of  that  tolera 
tion.    Undertoning  with  sadness  and  with  indignation 
all  that  was  said  were  the  references  to  the  persecution 
of  the  Jews  in  Russia,  which  is  now  in  the  throes  of 
revolution.     Those  references  made  every  word  spoken 
yesterday  a  testimony  on  behalf  of  toleration,  of  hu 
manity,  of  civic  equality,  and  of  religious  freedom. 
That  testimony  will  survive  the  words  in  which  it  was 
expressed.    The  occasion  will  be  framed  in  the  memory 
of  men  and  in  the  literature  of  this  century  as  a  tribute 
to  toleration,  to  civic  liberty,  and  to  religious  freedom. 
This  is  the  value  of  it.    This  insures  the  celebrity  of  it. 
This  guarantees  the  honor  of  it.     This  establishes  the 
significance  of  it,  and  this,  whether  for  Jew  or  for 
Gentile,  secures  the  honor  as  well  as  the  value,  the 
indestructibility  as  well  as  the  potency  of  it.     The 
meeting  was  one  in  which  it  was  an  honor  to  speak 
and  an  honor  merely  as  listeners  to  participate.    None 
of  those  there,  and  none  upon  whom  the  effect  of 
the  occasion  may  come,  as  readers  of  it,  will  ever  be 
able  to  escape  its  enlarging  influence.     Everyone  will 
progressively  become  the   subject  of  that  influence. 
The  occasion,  even  as  a  memory  or  a  record,  will  rise 
to  rebuke  narrowness,  to  condemn  proscription  and  to 
satirize  sectarianism,  wherever  attempts  to  appeal  to 
prejudice  or  to  abridge  freedom  or  to  question  the 
competency  of  men  to  do  their  own  thinking  and  to 
frame,  to  enforce,  and  to  vindicate  self-government 
may  be  made. 

[207] 


There  was  one  word  which  outclassed  Jew  or  Gen 
tile,  Hebrew  or  Christian,  as  terms  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  spoke  and  of  those  who  heard  them.  The 
word  was  American.  Citizenship  came  to  honor  by 
that  fact.  Nationality  came  to  recognition  by  that 
fact.  Loyalty  and  law  came  to  consciousness  and  to 
acclamation  by  that  fact.  The  fact  made  the  spirit 
or  soul  of  the  entire  occasion.  It  made  the  occasion 
itself  forever  significant.  And  to  none  was  it  more 
significant  than  to  the  Jews  assembled,  and  to  none  of 
them  was  it  so  significant  as  to  their  spiritual,  their 
political,  and  their  business  magnates.  The  inferiority 
of  the  things  whereon  we  disagree  to  the  things 
whereon  we  all  agree,  was  vividly  and  vitally  shown 
by  the  entire  demonstration.  That  demonstration  was 
notable  in  every  respect  which  can  add  distinction  to 
celebration.  We  are  glad  that  the  Empire  State  was 
the  scene  of  the  event  commemorated,  and  has  been 
the  theater  of  the  extraordinary  evolution  of  results 
from  that  event.  The  metropolis  is  the  home  of  tolera 
tion  as  well  as  of  enterprise,  and  the  metropolis  never 
passed  under  a  finer  influence  than  that  to  which  it 
was  subjected  by  the  significant  meeting  in  its  princi 
pal  hall  of  assembly,  on  Thursday  afternoon. 


THE   RISE    OF   THE    JEWS 

FROM  THE  Denver  Republican 

When,  nearly  a  hundred  years  ago,  Byron  sang 
the  song  of  Zion's  sorrow  in  his  beautiful  tribute  to 
the  tribe  of  the  wandering  foot  and  weary  breast,  all 
[  208  ] 


Jews  were  under  a  political  ban  and  socially  ostracized 
in  every  country  of  the  globe  save  the  United  States 
alone.  The  story  of  their  rise  in  power  since  then  is 
told  by  Charles  M.  Harvey  in  an  interesting  and  in 
structive  article  printed  in  the  latest  number  of  Les 
lie 's  Weekly,  wherein  he  declares  their  progress  in 
"  the  face  of  prejudices  more  obstructive  than  hostile 
statutes  "  to  be  one  of  the  marvels  of  the  present  age. 

Masters  of  money-making  for  a  thousand  years, 
the  bankers  and  brokers  of  the  middle  ages  and  of  the 
earlier  period  of  modern  times,  they  were  feared  by 
the  ignorant  and  persecuted  by  the  strong.  Nearly 
every  avenue  of  effort  was  barred  against  their  en 
trance.  Lacking  opportunity  to  employ  their  powers 
in  other  directions  than  money-lending,  they  suffered 
the  world  to  believe  that  science  and  art,  literature, 
law,  statecraft,  and  whatever  else  appealed  to  the  in 
tellect  and  the  nobler  emotions  rather  than  to  the  fear 
and  avarice  of  man,  were  to  them  unknown  and  im 
possible. 

It  was  reserved  for  our  own  day  to  witness  their 
emancipation  from  this  serfdom  of  bigotry  and  preju 
dice.  Following  Goethe's  advice  that  he  who  would 
reach  the  infinite  should  venture  into  the  finite  on 
every  side,  their  strong  men  have  overlooked  no  path, 
have  neglected  no  field,  but  in  every  direction  have 
pressed  forward  until  they  occupy  to-day  some  of  the 
most  commanding  places  in  the  world  of  literature 
and  science,  in  finance,  in  commerce,  and  in  govern 
ment.  Racial  virility  has  made  them  conquerors. 
They  have  demonstrated  their  adaptability  to  every 
station  and  secured  at  last  the  recognition  which  their 
[209] 


talents  and  energies  have  compelled  the  world  to 
accord. 

Eleven  million  Jews  inhabit  the  earth  to-day,  five 
million  of  whom  are  in  Russia  and  two  million  in 
Austria-Hungary.  Fifteen  hundred  thousand  have 
made  their  homes  in  the  United  States,  nearly  one- 
half  of  whom  are  in  the  city  of  New  York.  They  are 
coming  at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  thousand  a  year, 
and  in  Mr.  Harvey's  opinion  their  number  in  the 
United  States  twenty  years  hence  will  exceed  that  of 
any  other  country  in  the  world.  Oppressed  in 
Austria  and  persecuted  in  Russia,  they  are  leaving 
those  countries  in  eager  throngs,  pushing  toward  this 
new  promised  land,  where  their  wandering  feet  can 
find  the  paths  of  prosperity  and  peace. 

This  afternoon  in  the  First  Baptist  Church  a  meet 
ing  will  be  held  to  consider  ways  and  means  whereby 
aid  may  be  extended  to  the  afflicted  and  suffering  men 
and  women  of  this  race  in  Russia.  It  was  called  by 
some  of  the  leading  clergymen  of  the  city,  addresses 
will  be  delivered  by  well-known  speakers,  and  an  op 
portunity  will  be  given  those  who  may  be  present  to 
express,  by  appropriate  resolutions,  sympathy  for  the 
unfortunates,  and  horror  at  the  cruelty  to  which  they 
have  been  subjected. 


A    JEWISH    FESTIVAL 

FKOM  THE  Mexico  City  Herald 

The  Jews  of  the  United  States  are  about  to  cele 
brate  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
[210] 


permanent  settlement  of  men  of  their  race  and  faith 
in  what  is  now  the  territory  of  the  great  republic.  It 
is  related  that,  a  quarter  of  a  millennium  ago,  Jacob 
Barsimson,  a  Jew,  landed  at  New  Amsterdam  (New 
York )  to  seek  his  fortune,  and  somewhat  later  twenty- 
three  Jewish  refugees  from  Brazil  arrived  at  the  same 
port,  which  was  destined  in  ages  to  come  to  be  the 
gateway  to  a  land  of  promise  for  thousands  of  op 
pressed  Hebrews  from  many  lands  and  to  have  itself 
a  large  Hebrew  population. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  nations,  with  the  wisdom  and 
liberality  which  guide  their  public  policy,  have  for 
long  past  signalized  themselves  by  their  humane  and 
enlightened  treatment  of  men  of  all  races  and  religions 
seeking  their  shores,  and  in  their  territory  the  Jews 
have  found  opportunities  afforded  to  them  in  no  other 
land.  In  England  in  recent  times  a  Jew  has  risen  to 
the  highest  office  under  the  crown,  and  on  more  than 
one  occasion  a  Jew  has  figured  as  the  civic  head  of  the 
greatest  of  modern  capitals.  In  the  United  States 
every  avenue  is  open  to  the  Jew,  and  in  American 
finance  the  Jews  occupy  high,  but  not  the  most  com 
manding  positions. 

This  fact,  which  is  really  of  extreme  interest, 
affords  the  key  both  to  the  harsh,  repressive  measures 
taken  against  the  Jews  in  some  countries  and  the  liberal 
treatment  accorded  them  in  the  Anglo-Saxon  nations. 
In  backward  countries,  whose  inhabitants,  owing  either 
to  lack  of  education  and  enterprise  or  to  natural 
apathy  and  indifference,  are  unable  to  compete  with 
the  more  alert  Jew  on  the  basis  of  equal  opportuni 
ties,  the  Jews  are  persecuted  and  placed  under  various 
[211] 


disabilities.  On  the  other  hand,  in  countries  whose 
people  are  free,  energetic,  and  intelligent,  the  Jew  is 
not  feared,  and,  therefore,  is  not  antagonized,  simply 
because  his  Gentile  neighbors  are  able  to  hold  their 
own  against  him. 

In  the  United  States,  prominent  as  are  the  Jews  in 
finance,  they  do  not  own  the  largest  fortunes.  They 
are  a  factor  and  an  important  one  in  the  business  life 
of  the  American  metropolis,  but  they  do  not  domi 
nate  it. 

And  it  is  a  noteworthy,  but  yet,  properly  con 
sidered,  a  perfectly  natural  fact,  that  the  Jews  them 
selves,  in  a  liberal  and  tolerant  environment,  divest 
themselves  of  many  of  the  characteristics  which  ren 
der  them  unpopular  elsewhere.  For  this  reason  Eng 
land  and  the  United  States  have  the  best  Jews — men 
of  philanthropy,  public  spirit,  and  all  the  other  quali 
ties  which  make  men  desirable  and  useful  members  of 
a  community. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add,  in  connection  with  the 
forthcoming  Jewish  commemoration  in  the  United 
States,  that  Jacob  Barsimson  was  not  the  first  Jew 
who  landed  in  the  New  World.  Indeed,  one  of  the 
companions  of  Columbus,  in  the  discovery  of  this  con 
tinent,  Luis  de  Torres,  was  a  Jew.  And  here  it  may 
also  be  mentioned  that  Luis  de  Sanangel  and  Gabriel 
Sanchez,  friends  and  patrons  of  Columbus,  belonged 
to  the  class  numerous  in  the  Spain  of  that  day,  viz., 
of  Jews  who,  outwardly  conforming  with  the  domi 
nating  worship,  adhered  in  secret  to  their  own  tenets, 
for  inquisitorial  institutions  can  control  the  external 
acts  of  men  but  can  never  reduce  to  vassalage  what 


Byron    called   the    "eternal    spirit    of   the    chainless 
mind." 

Undoubtedly  in  Mexico,  long  before  the  year  in 
which  Barsimson  landed  in  New  York,  there  were 
Jews  of  the  outwardly  conforming  type.  Without 
going  deeply  into  the  erudition  of  the  matter,  we  may 
remind  our  readers  that  the  celebrated  autos  de  fe  in 
which  the  Caravajal  family  perished  took  place  in 
the  years  1596  and  1601.  The  records  of  these  curi 
ous  cases  were  brought  to  light  some  years  ago  by 
Vicente  Riva  Palacio  and  published  by  him  in  the 
"Libro  Rojo." 

In  this  enlightened  age  the  Jewish  community  of 
Mexico  is  numerous,  prosperous,  and  influential.  Its 
members  celebrate  openly  the  feasts  and  fasts  of  their 
religion  and  oh !  shades  of  the  Inquisitors  Don  Alonso 
de  Peralta  y  Gutierre,  Don  Bernardo  de  Quiroz,  and 
Don  Martos  de  Bohorquez,  are  talking  of  erecting  a 
synagogue  where  they  will  gather  for  worship  under 
the  jegis  of  the  religious  freedom  won  by  the  wisdom 
and  firmness  of  the  immortal  Juarez. 


JEWISH    IDEALISM 

FROM  THE  New  York  Evening  Post 

For  the  next  ten  days  the  press  will  teem  with  arti 
cles  telling  of  the  progress  of  the  Jews  in  America, 
since  their  arrival  just  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago.  Their  achievements  in  science,  commerce,  and 
finance  will  be  recounted.  The  patriotism  displayed 
[213] 


by  the  7,884  members  of  their  race  who  served  the 
Union  during  the  Civil  War  will  rightly  be  dwelt 
upon.  As  for  the  material  successes  of  the  Jews, 
merely  to  describe  them  would  require  volumes. 

But  it  is  not  so  useful  to  ask  what  America  has 
done  for  the  Jew,  as  what  the  Jew  has  done  for  Amer 
ica.  If  the  Hebrews  were  to  be  judged  merely  by 
their  ability  to  make  money  speedily,  the  verdict  in 
their  favor  would  be  instant.  But  there  are  other 
questions  to  be  asked.  What  has  the  Jew  contributed 
to  American  ideals?  What  has  he  done  to  better  the 
country  spiritually?  What  is  our  debt  to  him  in  the 
higher  fields  of  human  activity,  in  the  domain  of  lit 
erature,  music,  and  art?  If  these  queries  cannot  be 
answered  in  his  favor,  we  must  admit  that  there  would 
be  reason  to  ask  with  alarm  when  the  heavy  Jewish 
immigration  is  to  stop;  and  to  view  with  dread  the 
growth  of  the  Hebrew  population  of  this  city  and 
country. 

Let  it  be  said  at  the  outset  that  no  section  of  our 
variegated  population  has  ever  set  up  a  higher  ideal 
of  what  the  home  ought  to  be  than  the  Jews.  Be  it 
because  there  still  survives  in  Jewish  life  the  Scriptural 
tradition  of  the  family  as  an  institution  in  which  the 
patriarch  reigns  supreme,  or  because  their  social  isola 
tion  has  caused  them  to  cling  more  closely  to  one 
another  than  would  otherwise  be  the  case,  in  the 
average  Jewish  home  of  culture  there  is  a  reverence 
for  age  and  a  tenderness  of  affection  far  too  often 
lacking  where  Anglo-Saxon  traditions  prevail.  This 
is  not  simply  the  result  of  the  league  for  offense  and 
defense  which  Jews  have  consciously  or  unconsciously 


been  compelled  to  form — thanks  to  Christians.  There 
is  in  all  their  relations  of  family  life  a  mutual  regard 
and  respect,  with  a  recognition  of  the  claims  of  kin 
ship,  well  worthy  of  imitation.  And  this  virtue  ex 
tends  to  the  community  also.  No  other  portion  of  our 
population  cares  so  well  or  so  liberally  for  its  sick, 
its  aged,  its  dependents.  And  no  other  aids  so  freely 
the  helpless  and  lowly  of  other  sects.  The  lists  of 
donors  to  the  Hebrew  charities  of  New  York  are  singu 
larly  barren  of  Christian  names ;  but  so-called  "  Chris 
tian  "  charities  rarely  appeal  in  vain  to  men  of 
Hebrew  faith  or  descent.  Justice  was  on  the  side  of 
Rabbi  Hirschberg,  of  Chicago,  who  commented  scath 
ingly  last  week  on  the  failure  of  the  Christian  Church 
and  press  to  raise  their  voices  in  protest  against  the 
savage  massacres  of  Jews  in  Russia.  He  called  for  a 
Garrison  to  rouse  the  whole  nation  to  a  proper  indig 
nation;  but  if  it  had  been  a  massacre  of  Christian 
missionaries  and  traders  in  China,  there  would  have 
been  no  need  to  cry  out  from  the  housetops  for  Jewish 
sympathy  or  Jewish  money  for  the  survivors. 

The  thirst  for  knowledge  which  fills  our  city  col 
leges  and  Columbia's  halls  with  the  sons  of  Hebrews 
who  came  over  in  the  steerage,  is  in  itself  the  best  proof 
of  Jewish  ideality.  The  time  has  long  since  passed 
when  the  Hebrew  money  lender  could  be  cited  as  the 
representative  of  his  race.  To  medicine  and  the  law 
the  Jew  turns  with  natural  facility.  In  political  life 
he  is  making  himself  more  and  more  felt  with  every 
decade.  Not  always  are  his  representatives  such  as  to 
confer  honor  on  him  and  his  people ;  but  the  Christian 
Americans,  who  have  contributed  their  Platts,  Quays, 
[215] 


and  Odells  to  our  roll  of  statesmen,  should  be  the  last 
to  throw  a  stone.  We  prefer  to  dwell  on  the  touching 
faith  with  which  the  East  Side  Jews  followed  Mr. 
Jerome  wherever  he  appeared,  in  his  campaign  two 
years  ago,  seeking  to  touch  his  garments  and  hear  his 
voice,  even  when  they  could  not  understand  his  words. 
Invaluable  service  our  best  Jews  have  performed  in 
every  campaign  for  municipal  or  national  reforms. 
What  would  our  Reform  and  City  Clubs,  our  Citi 
zens  Union,  have  been  without  them  and  their  gener 
ous  aid?  From  what  uplifting  movement  have  they 
withheld  their  support  ?  Certainly  not  from  our  social 
settlements,  our  civic  federations,  nor  our  efforts  to 
establish  peace  and  concord  among  nations.  No  man 
in  America  has  stood  for  a  higher  moral  standard 
than  Felix  Adler,  or  voiced  a  purer  idealism.  No  one 
has  spoken  out  more  stoutly  against  war,  the  sum  of 
all  villainies,  than  Oscar  Straus.  Yet  to  these  names 
could  be  added  a  host  of  others,  in  and  out  of  the 
orthodox  church;  and  to  such  America  owes  a  great 
debt. 

"  But  for  the  Jews,"  said  a  high  Saxon  official,  in 
music-loving  Germany,  a  few  years  ago,  "  we  should 
have  to  close  the  Dresden  Opera  House,  and  the  same 
is  true  at  Frankfurt."  Of  what  the  Jews  have  done 
for  American  music,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  our  ex 
traordinary  musical  development  is  due  in  very  large 
part  to  Jewish  support.  It  is  not  merely  that  the  race 
has  given  us  a  Damrosch,  a  Joseffy,  and  a  host  of 
minor  musicians  of  talent ;  from  the  very  beginnings 
of  orchestra  and  opera  the  appeal  to  the  Jewish 
pocket  and  Jewish  sympathy  has  never  been  in  vain. 
[216] 


If  music  is  thought  of  as  a  necessity  by  any  of  our 
people,  it  is  by  the  Hebrews. 

But  best  of  all  has  been  the  fortitude  and  broad- 
mindedness  with  which  they  have  borne  persecutions 
and  intolerance.  "  Why  seek  another  Zion?  America 
is  the  promised  land  for  all  Hebrews,"  said,  in  effect, 
the  American  Hebrew  a  few  years  ago.  Yet  with  all 
its  religious  tolerance,  with  all  its  civil  and  political 
liberty,  the  United  States  has  witnessed,  and  still  wit 
nesses,  a  social  antipathy  to  the  Jews,  surpassed  only 
in  certain  sections  by  the  efforts  to  condemn  the  negro 
to  perpetual  inferiority.  Through  it  all  the  Jews 
have  borne  themselves  with  exemplary  patience  and 
dignity,  often  with  what  is  misnamed  a  "  Christian  " 
nobility.  In  this  their  ideality,  as  well  as  their  re 
ligion,  has  stood  them  in  good  stead.  It  has  been  as 
if  with  Ruskin  they  trusted  in  the  "  nobleness  of  hu 
man  nature,  in  the  majesty  of  its  faculties,  the  full 
ness  of  its  mercy,"  for  their  eventual  justification,  and 
the  final  disappearance  of  that  blind,  unreasoning 
prejudice  from  which  they  have  suffered  for  centuries, 
and  with  which  they  may  yet  have  to  reckon  long. 


THE    JEWISH    THANKSGIVING 

FROM  THE  New  York  Globe 

The  Thanksgiving  Day  celebration  in  honor  of  the 

two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  arrival 

of  Jacob  Barsimson,  the  first  Jewish  immigrant  to 

America  of  record,  is  of  course  to  be  devoted  chiefly 

[217] 


to  recitals  of  Jewish  progress.  Yet  the  festival, 
although  nominally  by,  for,  and  of  the  children  of  the 
dispersion,  is  not  without  compliment  to  the  Gentiles — 
to  the  English,  Scotch,  Irish,  Germans,  Swedes, 
Italians,  negroes,  even,  perhaps,  Indians,  whose 
mingled  force  makes  America.  The  implication  of 
every  preliminary  notice — indeed,  the  reason  for  asso 
ciating  the  celebration  with  a  day  specially  set  apart 
for  general  thanksgiving — is  that  this  country  is  the 
best  of  all  abiding  places.  The  Jews  have  tried  them 
all,  and  ought  to  know. 

The  facts  about  American  Jews  that  preparation 
for  the  celebration  has  brought  to  the  front  are  not 
only  interesting  in  themselves,  but  their  circulation  is 
calculated  materially  to  reduce  the  old  prejudice  to 
which  the  Atlantic  has  not  altogether  been  a  bar.  The 
statistics  regarding  the  million  and  a  half  Jews 
throughout  the  United  States  and  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  in  this  city  alone ;  the  very  con 
siderable  share  that  they  have  had  in  the  economic 
upbuilding  of  the  country;  their  strong  represen 
tation  in  the  professional  as  well  as  the  business 
world;  their  sympathy  for  and  support  of  liberal 
causes,  born  out  of  the  persecution  they  have  en 
dured  from  other  races ;  the  indubitable  evidence  that, 
at  bottom,  they  are  very  much  like  the  rest  of  us, 
and  that  the  Jew  of  the  comic  papers  and  the  anti- 
Semite,  like  the  Irishman  of  the  stage  and  the  A.  P. 
A.,  is  not  typical  of  the  race — all  of  these  things  are 
working  toward  a  more  enlightened  public  opinion. 
Yet  we  cannot  lay  claim  to  the  discovery  of  new  prin 
ciples.  Familiar  is  Jefferson's  letter  on  the  persecu- 
[218] 


tion  of  the  Jews,  wherein,  after  noting  our  funda 
mental  laws  in  behalf  of  freedom,  it  is  said :  "  But 
more  remains  to  be  done,  for,  although  we  are  free 
by  the  law,  we  are  not  so  in  practice.  Public  opinion 
erects  itself  into  an  Inquisition,  and  exercises  its  office 
with  as  much  fanaticism  as  fans  the  flames  of  an  auto 
da  fe."  We  are  still  working  away  at  an  uncompleted 
task. 

One  of  the  signs  of  progress  is  that  the  Jew  of  to 
day,  both  by  himself  and  by  his  critics,  is  interpreted 
far  more  rationally  than  were  his  forbears.  His  pecu 
liarities  are  regarded  more  as  results  of  external  than 
of  internal  causes.  The  tree  that  fails  to  grow  per 
pendicularly  does  so  because  of  pressure.  For  ex 
ample,  the  Jew  has  been  accused  of  lack  of  patriotism, 
yet  it  is  difficult  to  resist  the  force  of  the  following 
argument  made  by  an  Englishman  many  years  ago : 

"  They  (the  Jews)  are  precisely  what  any  sect, 
what  any  class  of  men,  treated  as  they  have  been 
treated,  would  have  been.  If  all  the  red-haired  peo 
ple  in  Europe  had,  during  centuries,  been  outraged 
and  oppressed,  banished  from  this  place,  imprisoned 
in  that,  deprived  of  their  money,  deprived  of  their 
teeth,  convicted  of  the  most  improbable  crimes  on  the 
feeblest  evidence,  dragged  at  horses'  tails,  hanged, 
tortured,  burned  alive — if,  when  manners  became 
milder,  they  had  still  been  subject  to  debasing  re 
strictions  and  exposed  to  vulgar  insults,  locked  up  in 
particular  streets  in  some  countries,  pelted  and  ducked 
by  the  rabble  in  others,  excluded  everywhere  from 
magistracies  and  honors,  what  would  be  the  patriotism 
of  gentlemen  with  red  hair?  " 

[219] 


The  greatest  benefit  America  has  conferred  on  the 
Jew  is  not  the  opportunity  to  amass  money,  but  to 
grow  into  erect  manhood.  For  two  thousand  years 
he  never  had  the  chance.  If  he  has  failed  in  some 
respects  to  measure  up  to  the  complete  opportunity,  it 
proves  nothing  except  that  it  is  impossible  to  set  aside 
at  will  deep-seated  inherited  tendencies.  But  the 
remedial  influences  are  steadily  at  work.  Prejudice 
is  disappearing,  and  step  by  step  with  its  going,  go 
the  excuses  for  prejudice.  Jew  and  Gentile  are  both 
escaping  from  a  vicious  circle — one  from  self-imposed 
isolation  and  the  other  from  imposing  the  conditions 
that  compel  isolation.  It  is  not  impossible  that  when 
the  five-hundredth  anniversary  of  Jacob  Barsimson's 
arrival  rolls  around,  the  distinction  of  Jew  and  Gentile 
will  have  been  forgotten.  Israel  has  preserved  her 
identity  despite  servitude  and  persecution ;  will  she  be 
able  to  continue  separate  in  the  presence  of  liberty 
and  equality  ?  As  Leroy  Beaulieu  puts  it :  "  Israel 
runs  the  risk  of  being  the  victim  of  the  Jew's  enfran 
chisement  and  of  perishing  in  his  victory." 


THE   JEW  IN  AMERICAN  LIFE 

FROM   THE  New    York  Journal  of  Commerce  cmd 
Commercial  Bulletin 

The  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
admission  of  Jews  to  trade  in  and  with  the  colony  of 
the  New  Netherlands  is  being  made  the  occasion  of  a 
notable  celebration.  The  whole  record  of  Jewish  set- 


tlement  in  this  country  is  one  which  redounds  no  less 
to  the  credit  of  the  Jews  themselves  than  to  that  of 
the  people  who  freely  gave  them  that  equality  of  op 
portunity  which  they  were  long  denied  throughout 
most  of  the  world  calling  itself  Christian.  It  is  a  trite 
saying  that  every  country  has  the  kind  of  Jew  it  de 
serves,  but  it  is  one,  none  the  less,  full  of  suggestion. 
For,  while  the  plastic  character  of  the  Jew  can  adapt 
itself  to  almost  any  environment,  and  the  indomitable 
energy  of  the  Jew  can  successfully  assert  itself  under 
the  least  favorable  conditions,  it  is  in  the  air  of  free 
dom  that  the  many-sided  capacity  of  the  Jew  is  seen 
in  its  highest  development.  In  the  beginnings  of  the 
foreign  commerce  of  the  country  the  Jews  bore  a  dis 
tinguished  part.  In  the  Dutch  West  India  Company 
they  were  large  stockholders;  while  it  was  still  New 
Amsterdam  they  were  among  the  chief  exporters  and 
importers  of  this  city ;  when  Newport  was  a  mart  of 
trade  they  ranked  as  its  foremost  merchants;  they 
were  trading  on  the  Delaware  as  early  as  1655,  and 
in  the  eighteenth  century  Jewish  names  stood  high  in 
the  mercantile  community  of  Philadelphia.  With 
connections  extending  throughout  the  whole  civilized 
world  and  able  to  command  the  facilities  of  credit  on 
every  exchange  in  Europe,  the  American  Jew  had, 
from  the  first,  a  large  conception  of  trade  and  finance. 
His  breadth  of  view,  his  foresight,  and  his  enterprise 
were  powerful  factors  in  securing  for  the  young  re 
public  the  place  it  early  took  in  international  com 
merce.  The  finances  of  the  colonial  cause  in  the  revo 
lution  were  materially  helped  by  Jewish  assistance, 
as  were  those  of  the  colony  of  New  York  a  century 

] 


before.  Public  spirit  was  ever  a  characteristic  of  the 
Jew  when  he  was  permitted  to  demonstrate  it,  and  the 
little  band  of  Jewish  settlers  in  New  York  at  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  century  were  identified  with  every 
enterprise,  educational  or  philanthropic,  that  ap 
pealed  to  the  sentiment  of  civic  pride. 

All  through  the  history  of  this  city  the  Jews  have 
been  foremost  in  good  works.  At  the  very  beginning 
of  the  Jewish  settlement  in  New  York  the  condition 
was  imposed  that  their  poor  should  not  become  a  pub 
lic  charge.  This  was  faithfully  observed  by  those 
who  accepted  it,  as  well  as  by  their  successors  who  were 
probably  unaware  of  its  existence.  It  has  been  the 
special  distinction  of  the  Jew  in  this  country  that, 
while  contributing  liberally  to  charitable  and  benevo 
lent  objects  favored  by  his  fellow-citizens  of  different 
race  and  faith,  he  asks  from  them  nothing  for  the 
objects  which  appeal  primarily  to  his  own.  Hospitals 
supported  by  Jewish  contributions  make  no  discrimi 
nation  in  regard  to  the  patients  they  admit;  schools 
and  libraries  maintained  by  Jewish  beneficence  are 
open  to  all  who  can  derive  any  benefit  from  them. 
The  acceptance  of  the  responsibilities  of  citizenship 
by  the  Jews  coming  to  these  shores  has  been  as  prompt 
and  earnest  as  the  efforts  to  fit  the  newcomers  for  the 
discharge  of  the  duties  of  freemen  have  been  intelli 
gent  and  unremitting.  The  Americanization  of  the 
Jewish  immigrant  is  prosecuted  with  a  degree  of  as 
siduity  and  thoroughness  which  commands  admira 
tion,  and  which  forms  a  striking  testimony  to  the  gen 
erosity  and  patriotism  of  those  who  have  already 
enjoyed  the  boon  of  our  republican  liberty.  It  would 


be  strange  if  the  defects  in  character  and  conduct, 
generated  by  long  centuries  of  grinding  oppression 
in  other  lands,  did  not  subsist  after  the  Jew  had  es 
caped  from  bondage.  But,  unpromising  as  much  of 
the  raw  material  of  recent  Jewish  immigration  does 
appear,  there  is  nothing  more  marvelous  in  all  the 
history  of  human  emancipation  than  the  change  made 
in  a  single  generation,  even  where  these  people  are 
herded  together  by  the  thousand  in  the  tenements  of 
this  and  other  American  cities.  However  bent  and 
twisted  under  cruel  persecution,  persistent  robbery, 
and  bigoted  denial  of  the  primary  rights  of  a  human 
being,  the  Jewish  character  still  retains  enough  of  its 
native  force  and  resiliency  to  leave  no  cause  to  de 
spair  of  its  symmetrical  development  under  better  con 
ditions. 

It  would  not  be  too  much  to  claim  that  the  Jews 
have  enriched  American  life  by  their  devotion  to  high 
ideals,  either  in  the  world  of  morals  or  of  art.  Gener 
ous  patrons  of  all  the  arts  that  refine  life  they  un 
questionably  are,  and  without  them  the  standard  of 
musical  taste,  in  New  York  at  least,  would  be  far  less 
high  than  it  has  become  in  the  memory  of  this  genera 
tion.  With  the  acquisition  of  means  they  have  always 
striven  to  surround  themselves  with  beautiful  objects, 
and  their  standard  of  physical  comfort  is  uniformly 
high.  But  they  have  eagerly  adopted  the  American 
measure  of  success  in  life— the  possession  of  money— 
and  in  their  methods  of  getting  it  have  certainly  been 
no  more  scrupulous  than  their  neighbors.  In  the 
strength  of  their  family  ties  they  have  upheld  the 
best  traditions  of  the  earlier  days  of  the  republic,  and 


have  added  to  the  cohesion  of  the  household  something 
of  their  own.  On  American  flightiness  they  have 
operated  as  a  distinct  corrective  by  their  brilliant 
demonstration  of  how  close  is  the  association  between 
business  success  and  patient  continuity  of  effort. 
Singleness  of  purpose  is  one  of  the  best  marked  char 
acteristics  of  the  Jew,  and  less  self-denying  men  who 
complain  of  the  closeness  of  his  competition  would  do 
well  to  give  due  consideration  to  what  is  after  all  the 
quality  that  makes  him  strong.  The  American  Jew 
is  already  a  type  clearly  distinguishable  from  that  of 
any  of  his  European  brethren,  and,  as  his  evolution 
proceeds,  he  cannot  fail  to  become  further  modified 
by  his  environment.  Nor  can  the  characteristic  quali 
ties  of  such  a  race — their  strength  under  adversity, 
their  tireless  industry,  and  their  ceaseless  struggle  to 
advance — fail  to  react  on  and  modify  in  its  turn  the 
composite  nation  of  which  it  is  one  of  the  most  potent 
elements. 


THE    JEWS   IN   AMERICA 

FROM  THE  New  York  Times 

A  merchant  in  the  City  of  New  York  may  any  day 
buy  and  sell  commodities  almost  simultaneously  in  his 
own  store,  in  Para,  in  Manchester  or  Liverpool,  in 
Odessa,  and  in  Canton  and  Tokio.  He  will  find  that 
the  merchants  of  these  cities  do  business  very  much 
as  he  does  business ;  they  will  understand  his  cabled 
advices  and  act  on  them  intelligently,  just  as  he  would 


act  on  theirs.  The  modern  commercial  idea  appears 
to  be  fluid  and  assimilative — it  has  overspread  the 
world.  Commercially  the  nations  have  become  one  in 
thought  and  purpose.  They  understand  each  other. 
Why  should  modern  political  ideas  be  less  fluid  than 
commercial  ideas?  Manifestly  the  political  idea  does 
not  so  readily  overspread  the  world,  for  to-day  while 
the  Jews  of  the  United  States  are  celebrating  an  an 
niversary  which  rounds  out  for  them  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  entire  freedom  and  equality  before  the 
law,  the  Jews  of  Russia,  always  persecuted,  always  op 
pressed,  never  privileged  beyond  the  narrowest  limits, 
are  being  savagely  done  to  death  by  mobs  with  which 
the  police  and  the  authorities  are  almost  openly  in 
sympathy.  Russia  has  more  Jews  than  any  other 
nation,  and  beyond  any  other  nation  she  has  treated 
them  with  inhuman  disregard  of  man's  natural  right 
to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  In  this 
country  the  Government  has  treated  the  Jew  as  it  has 
treated  everybody  else,  imposing  no  disabilities,  restric 
tions,  or  abridgments  of  privilege.  The  contrast  be 
tween  the  treatment  and  the  condition  of  the  Jew  in 
Russia  and  the  Jew  in  America  is  as  striking  as  it  is 
instructive. 

That  our  treatment  of  the  Jew  has  been  right  and 
wise  and  sound,  not  merely  from  the  Jew's  point  of 
view,  but  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Government 
and  the  nation,  is  so  abundantly  attested  that  none 
would  be  so  foolish  as  to  dispute  it.  He  has  paid  for 
the  privileges  he  enjoys  and  for  the  respect  in  which 
he  is  held  by  contributing  his  full  share  to  the  pros 
perity  and  the  greatness  of  the  nation.  In  the  pro- 


fessions,  in  the  trades,  in  manufactures,  in  finance,  in 
politics,  in  public  life,  on  the  bench,  in  both  branches 
of  Congress,  and  in  State  legislatures,  he  has  held 
his  place  and  done  his  work  like  other  Americans.  If 
we  had  been  so  narrow  and  bigoted  and  foolish  as  to 
decree  that  no  Jew  should  hold  public  office,  engage  in 
any  save  certain  specified  trades,  or  have  his  home  out 
side  of  designated  pales,  we  should  have  deprived  our 
selves  of  that  share  of  the  national  wealth  which  he  has 
had  the  privilege  and  made  it  his  duty  to  create,  and 
of  his  contribution  to  the  country's  welfare.  Russia 
has  so  deprived  herself,  and  of  that  and  other  follies 
she  is  now  reaping  the  consequences. 

Our  most  notable  contributions  to  the  political  ideas 
and  practices  of  the  world,  we  suppose,  are  the  use  of 
straightforward  methods  and  the  application  of  the 
"  golden  rule  "  in  diplomacy,  a  policy  of  which  our 
neutrality  laws  were  an  early  fruit,  and  our  granting 
to  every  citizen  freedom  of  religion  and  perfect 
equality  before  the  law.  As  we  have  never  known 
any  other  practice  or  policy,  the  converse  proposition 
is  to  the  American  mind  well-nigh  unthinkable.  Ma- 
caulay  pointed  out  seventy-five  years  ago  that  the  ex 
clusion  of  Jews  from  the  House  of  Commons  was  alto 
gether  illogical,  and  must  be  held  absurd  so  long  as 
Jews  were  allowed  to  carry  on  business  and  accumulate 
wealth,  for,  as  everybody  knew,  wealth  was  power. 
"  A  congress  of  sovereigns,"  he  said,  "  may  be  forced 
to  summon  the  Jews  to  their  assistance.  The  scrawl 
of  a  Jew  on  the  back  of  a  piece  of  paper  may  be  worth 
more  than  the  royal  word  of  three  kings  or  the  na 
tional  faith  of  three  new  American  republics."  When 
[226] 


you  once  begin  to  abridge  the  privileges  of  race,  there 
is  no  stopping  place  short  of  absolute  exclusion  from 
the  country,  and  that  even  in  1830  no  Englishman 
was  prepared  to  advocate.  The  fathers  of  this  re 
public  and  those  who  went  before  the  fathers,  seem 
to  have  had  what  Russia  has  plainly  lacked,  the 
capacity  of  profiting  by  the  experience  of  others.  Mo 
hammed,  thirteen  hundred  years  ago,  discovered  very 
early  in  his  career  as  a  "  divinely  appointed  "  prophet 
that  his  design  to  include  all  the  Jews  of  Arabia  in 
the  bond  of  his  new  faith  was  futile,  because  the  re 
ligion  of  the  Jew  was  by  its  very  nature  incapable  of 
coalescing  with  any  other  religion.  But  he  never 
found  out  that  other  truth,  that  the  use  of  force 
against  the  patient  and  enduring  Jewish  race  is  a 
waste  of  power.  Russia's  lesson  has  been  costly 
enough,  but  she  does  not  yet,  or  at  least  her  people  do 
not,  understand  the  sheer  futility  of  oppression.  The 
Americans  seem  to  have  known  all  about  it  from  the 
beginning. 

It  was  not  pure  altruism,  it  was  not  idealism,  it  was 
not  alone  sincere  faith  in  the  doctrine  of  equality  that 
made  the  fathers  resolve  that  there  should  be  no  dis 
tinction  before  the  law  between  Protestant  and  Catho 
lic,  Jew  and  Gentile,  or  between  native  and  foreigner 
so  soon  as  the  foreigner  had  declared  his  intention  to 
become  an  American  citizen.  This  policy  has  made 
Americans  of  the  whole  body  of  the  population,  for 
it  is  as  plain  as  noonday  that  the  quality  of  patriot 
ism  springs  from  a  sense  of  being  well  governed.  The 
Jews  of  America  to-day  celebrate  their  anniversary. 
But  the  country  itself  has  profound  cause  of  satisfac- 


tion  in  the  consciousness  that  it  has  made  no  mistake 
in  its  policy  of  permitting  no  distinction  to  be  set  up 
for  reasons  of  race  and  blood. 


THE    JEWS    IN    AMERICA 

FROM  THE  Philadelphia  Record 

There  is  evidence  that  the  celebration  of  the  two 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  first  landing 
of  Jews  in  America,  Thanksgiving  week,  and  espe 
cially  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  will  be  the  most  notable 
feature  of  this  year's  holiday.  For  the  first  two  hun 
dred  years  after  the  arrival  at  New  Amsterdam  of  a 
harried  remnant  of  twenty-three  refugees,  expelled 
in  1655  by  the  Portuguese  from  Brazil,  the  immigra 
tion  of  Jews  to  the  United  States  was  very  meager. 
It  has  only  been  in  the  last  fifty  years  that  the  pro 
portion  of  arriving  Jews  has  become  a  really  formida 
ble  movement. 

From  the  beginning,  however,  the  Jews  have  been 
good  and  patriotic  citizens.  They  had  their  repre 
sentatives  in  the  ranks  of  the  Revolutionary  Army 
and  they  have  furnished  more  than  their  proportionate 
quota  to  the  armies  of  the  Union  in  every  war  in  which 
the  country  has  been  engaged.  They  have  come  to  us 
from  all  parts  of  the  civilized  world,  but  their  loyalty 
to  the  flag  has  never  been  questioned.  They  have  ad 
vanced  with  the  advance  of  the  country,  and  have 
attained  eminence  in  all  the  walks  of  life,  political, 
professional,  commercial,  and  industrial.  There  are 
[228] 


few  positions  in  our  public  service  to  which  they  have 
not  attained  and  none  to  which  they  may  not  reason 
ably  aspire. 

The  effect  of  our  liberal  institutions  upon  the  Jew 
ish  race  has  been  undoubtedly  beneficent.  Liberty  has 
done  for  them  what  the  hard  repression  and  persecu 
tion  of  other  nations  has  failed  to  accomplish.  They 
are  in  the  undoubted  process  of  an  unreserved  assimila 
tion  into  the  citizenship  of  the  country.  They  have 
conquered  to  a  great  extent  their  own  prejudices  and 
ours. 

The  celebration  of  their  two  hundred  and  fiftieth 
anniversary  Thanksgiving  week  will  give  unusual  in 
terest  to  the  national  holiday. 


THE  JEWS  IN  AMERICA 

FROM  THE  Washington,  Star 

In  1655  the  bark  St.  Catarma  entered  New  York 
harbor  bearing  a  little  company  of  Jewish  colonists, 
seeking  religious  and  political  liberty  in  the  New 
World.  To-day  has  been  set  apart  for  the  celebration 
of  the  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the 
event,  which  is  of  significance  in  the  history  of  the 
United  States,  and  of  vital  consequence  in  the  records 
of  the  Jewish  people  of  all  lands. 

There  are  now  fully  1,200,000  Jews  in  the  United 
States,  scattered  through  all  sections,  engaged  in  all 
lines  of  business,  prospering  and  contributing  to  the 
wealth  and  advancement  of  the  nation  in  all  directions. 


They  are  highly  esteemed  citizens,  law-abiding,  pro 
gressive,  intelligent.  They  have  earned  the  respect 
of.  all  classes  and  the  members  of  all  religions.  They 
have  found  here  a  broad  tolerance  for  their  views  and 
ceremonies  and  they  have  given  abundant  evidence  of 
their  appreciation  of  this  spirit,  which  lies  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  true  Americanism. 

The  Jews  in  America  have  participated  in  all  the 
national  movements  which  have  gone  to  the  upbuild 
ing  of  the  republic,  its  maintenance,  and  its  strength 
ening.  They  have  been  soldiers  when  the  call  came. 
In  the  Revolution  they  fought  with  colonists  of  dif 
ferent  faiths,  striving  patriotically,  and  freely  sac 
rificing  their  lives  to  the  end  that  here  in  the  West 
might  come  into  being  a  nation  of  true  liberty  of 
thought  and  action.  They  participated  in  the  War 
for  the  Preservation  of  the  Union.  They  have  always 
responded  to  the  summons  for  help.  In  times  of  great 
calamity  they  have  given  generously  of  their  wealth 
for  the  succoring  of  the  afflicted.  In  their  own  lines 
they  have  built  up  great  charitable  works.  They  have 
eagerly  availed  themselves  of  the  public-school  facili 
ties  and  have  striven  faithfully  to  fit  themselves  for 
citizenship. 

Since  this  first  incoming  of  the  Jews  there  has  been 
a  steadily  increasing  stream  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  persecuted  of  European  countries  have 
fled  hither,  certain  to  find  at  least  an  opportunity  to 
worship  according  to  the  ancient  faith  of  their 
fathers,  assured  of  an  equal  opportunity  before  the 
law.  Even  now  the  hearts  of  tens  of  thousands  of 
afflicted  Jews  in  Russia  are  yearning  for  the  chance 
[230] 


to  come  to  the  United  States,  from  which  is  flowing 
a  golden  stream  of  alms  for  their  relief  in  the  hour 
of  their  great  distress. 

These  good  citizens  of  to-day  and  the  past  have 
greatly  contributed  to  the  strength  of  the  republic, 
and  in  this  day  of  celebration  there  should  be  a  hearty 
appreciation  of  this  fact. 


FROM    REV.    DR.    LYMAN   ABBOTT 

EDITOR  OF  The  Outlook 

In  my  judgment,  the  American  people  owe  more 
to  the  ancient  Hebrews  than  to  any  other  ancient 
people.  More  than  to  either  the  Greeks  or  the 
Romans,  because  to  the  Hebrews  we  owe  our  ethical 
and  spiritual  ideas ;  from  them  have  come  to  us : 

Our  conception  of  one  God,  out  of  which  has  grown 
our  belief  in  the  unity  of  the  world,  both  of  matter 
and  of  mind. 

Our  belief  that  He  is  a  righteous  God  and  demands 
righteousness  of  His  children  and  demands  nothing 
else ;  out  of  which  has  grown  our  belief  that  religion 
has  to  do  with  this  present  life  and  is  not  merely  a 
preparation  for  another  life. 

Our  belief  that  God  made  man  in  His  own  image; 
out  of  which  has  grown  the  modern  faith  in  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  although  that  faith  was  not  enter 
tained  by  the  ancient  Hebrews  and  probably  could  not 
have  been  entertained  by  them  in  the  then  state  of 
spiritual  development. 

[231] 


Our  belief  that  God  has  made  the  world  subservient 
to  man,  to  be  His  servant,  not  His  master — a  belief 
which  has  put  an  end  to  all  deification  of  nature  and 
is  the  germ  of  faith  out  of  which  all  scientific  develop 
ment  has  issued. 

Our  belief  in  the  sovereignty  of  God,  which,  trans 
lated  in  the  terms  of  human  experience,  means  the 
sovereignty  of  conscience — a  faith  which  is  absolutely 
inconsistent  with  all  forms  of  despotism,  and  is  the 
parent  of  all  permanent  free  institutions. 

I  hope  the  time  will  come  when  the  laws  and  litera 
ture  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  will  be  studied  in  all  of 
our  schools  as  now  are  studied  the  laws  and  literature 
of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  when  it  will 
be  universally  recognized  that  no  man  ignorant  of  the 
laws  and  literature  of  the  ancient  Hebrews  is  a  well- 
educated  man. 


II 

CORRESPONDENCE 

ENGLAND  TO  AMERICA 

Letter  from  Israel  Abrahams,  Esq.,  President  of  the 
Jewish  Historical  Society  of  England 

CAMBRIDGE,  October  17,  1905. 
MAX  J.  KOHLER,  ESQ.,  Honorary  Secretary. 

DEAR  SIR  :  On  behalf  of  the  Jewish  Historical 
Society  of  England,  I  write  to  offer  to  your  com 
mittee  our  very  cordial  congratulations  on  your  two 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  celebration.  Mar 
velous,  indeed,  has  been  the  growth  of  the  American 
Jewish  community  in  numbers  and  material  prosper 
ity.  But  more  remarkable  still  has  been  its  consistent 
advance  in  all  those  noble  enterprises  which  the  world 
has  the  right  to  expect  from  Jews.  Young  as  com 
pared  with  the  ancient  history  of  the  Jewish  people, 
your  community  takes  the  lead  of  older  bodies  in 
Jewish  thought  and  philanthropy — championing  the 
cause  of  the  persecuted  abroad,  promoting  all  good 
causes  at  home. 

On  December  3d  and  4th  we,  too,  are  celebrating 
a  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary.  The  White 
hall  Conference  may  not  have  led  to  precise  legal  re 
sults  of  much  moment,  but  it  was  a  unique  testimony 
to  the  change  which  was  coming  over  the  world. 
Oliver  Cromwell  and  Manasseh  ben  Israel — Puritan 
and  Jew — then  stood  side  by  side  as  immortal  cham- 
[233] 


pions  of  toleration  and  justice.  Most  of  us  in  Eng 
land  are  content  and  proud  to  date  from  that  sig 
nificant  incident  the  restoration  of  the  Anglo-Jewish 
community  after  the  expulsion  in  1290.  To  us,  as 
to  you,  the  year  1655  is  a  great  and  memorable  year, 
and  by  a  happy  coincidence  we  are  associated  with 
you  in  the  celebration  of  events  honorable  alike  to 
the  Christianity  and  to  the  Judaism  of  the  seven 
teenth  century. 

More  recent  events  have,  except  in  England  and 
America,  been  less  in  harmony  with  the  promise  of 
the  seventeenth  and  with  the  fulfillment  of  the  end 
of  the  eighteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
centuries.  The  Jews  of  many  lands  have  to  fight  over 
again  some  part  of  the  old  battle  for  justice.  But 
is  it  nothing  that  we  do  occupy,  as  Jews,  the  position 
of  protagonists  in  so  great  a  cause?  This  struggle 
for  the  right — enforced  upon  us,  yet  willingly  en 
dured — is  an  honor,  not  a  detriment.  It  keeps  us 
virile;  it  makes  us  earnest;  it  prevents  us  from  sink 
ing  into  that  security  which  is  mortals'  chief est  enemy. 
We  justify  ourselves  by  bearing  ourselves  as  men  in 
this  fight  for  justice. 

To  you,  as  to  us,  the  fight  appeals  with  peculiar 
fascination.  It  marks  out  for  us  a  duty,  but  it  re 
sponds  to  an  even  higher  instinct.  We,  as  you,  know 
what  it  means  to  be  free  citizens  of  a  free  state. 
Noblesse  oblige.  Our  pride  in  what  we  possess  makes 
us  eager  to  give  to  others  a  share.  We  are  clearly 
marked  out  as  the  missionaries  of  freedom.  To  you, 
as  to  us,  is  committed  the  cause  of  Judaism.  We 
rejoice  to  see  you  striding  even  beyond  us  in  that 


unselfish  impulse  toward  freeing  others  which  is  the 
crown  of  freedom  personally  enjoyed.  In  all  this 
effort  you  will  find  us,  I  hope  and  believe,  ready  to 
second  you.  Whether  it  be  in  those  more  domestic 
matters  which  concern  the  local  life  of  each  Jewish 
community ;  whether  it  be  the  encouragement  of  Jew 
ish  learning,  the  maintenance  of  our  common  Jewish 
religion,  and  the  revival  of  a  true  confidence  in  its 
ideals  and  practical  love  for  its  discipline;  whether 
it  be  those  wider  schemes  for  the  solace  of  the  down 
trodden  and  the  enfranchisement  of  the  oppressed,  in 
all  these  things  America  will  find  England  ready  to 
join  hands. 

To  tell  you  this  was  unnecessary,  but  to  do  it  is 
a  luxury  not  to  be  lost.  It  is  the  writer's  last  official 
act  as  president  of  the  Jewish  Historical  Society  of 
England.  May  these  inadequate  lines  convey  to  you 
our  good  wishes.  May  you  go  from  strength  to 
strength;  may  the  glory  of  your  coming  time  excel 
even  the  glory  of  your  past.  Your  celebration  is, 
after  all,  an  English  celebration.  Two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago  America  and  England  were  one,  na 
tionally  and  politically.  To-day  they  are  one  again 
in  a  union  of  hearts.  We  rejoice  with  you  now  in 
your  joy,  we  shall  be  ready  to  work  with  you  here 
after  in  all  that  must  concern  us  both  as  sharers  of 
the  olden  English  polity,  as  joint  inheritors  of  the 
still  older  and  even  more  inspiring  Jewish  tradition. 

Yours  very  truly, 

ISRAEL  ABRAHAMS. 


[235] 


AMERICA  TO  ENGLAND 

The  Executive  Committee  on  the  American  Two 
Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  Celebration 
addressed  the  following  letter  to  the  Jewish 
Historical  Society  of  England  on  the  Two  Hun 
dred  and  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  Whitehall 
Conference : 

November  %%,  1905. 

PROF.  DR.  H.  GOI/LANCZ,  President  of  the  Jewish 
Historical  Society  of  England,  London,  Eng 
land  : 

DEAR  SIR:  At  the  last  meeting  of  our  Executive 
Committee  our  secretary  presented  the  most  cordial 
letter  of  congratulation  forwarded  on  your  behalf  by 
Mr.  Israel  Abrahams  as  your  presiding  officer,  upon 
our  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary,  and  it  was 
unanimously  resolved  that  this  letter  should  form 
part  of  our  "  Anniversary  Proceedings."  We  were 
deputed  to  thank  your  society  most  warmly  for  its 
hearty  greetings,  and  to  extend  to  you  our  sincere 
congratulations,  in  return,  upon  the  celebration 
which  you  will  hold  on  December  3d  and  4th,  of  the 
two  hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  White 
hall  Conference.  In  discharging  this  pleasurable 
duty,  we  beg  leave  to  add  that  your  kind  message 
was  all  the  more  welcome,  because  we  in  America  have 
long  since  learned  to  admire  the  distinguished  spokes 
man  who  phrased  your  felicitous  greetings  for  you, 
the  author  of  "  Jewish  Life  in  the  Middle  Ages," 
which  has  long  been  a  classic  in  our  midst. 
[236] 


We  are  proud  to  learn  that  you  are  willing  to 
claim  our  celebration  as,  "  after  all,  an  English  cele 
bration."  While  both  you  and  we  must  turn  to  Hol 
land,  the  "  Holy  Land  of  Modern  Europe,"  in  the 
course  of  our  respective  celebrations,  to  trace  the 
impetus  from  which  arose  the  events  which  we  are 
celebrating,  we,  as  well  as  you,  cannot  fail  to  appre 
ciate  that  it  was  the  dearly  cherished  "  British  Con 
stitution  "  and  the  beloved  "  English  Common  Law," 
which  we  still  share  with  you,  and  their  spirit,  that 
made  possible  that  Jewish  development  in  our  respec 
tive  countries  which  we  both  to-day  love  to  empha 
size,  and  which  enabled  us  both  to  outpace  our  Dutch 
coreligionists  in  strength  and  success,  intellectual 
and  material.  You,  like  ourselves,  have  preferred  to 
select,  as  the  particular  occasion  for  to-day's  cele 
bration,  not  the  stray,  isolated,  possibly  accidental 
first  arrival  of  a  Jewish  settler,  but  the  formal,  offi 
cial,  grant  or  declaration  which  assured  to  the  Jewish 
settler  equality  before  the  law.  These  resulted,  with 
you  as  with  us,  in  the  establishment  of  Jewish  citizen 
ship  in  our  respective  lands,  and  advanced  us  im 
measurably  over  and  above  the  status  of  "  Schutz- 
juden"  whose  rights  were  dependent  upon  the  mere 
whim  and  caprice  of  each  successive  ruler. 

We  rejoice  that  you  have  so  happily  chosen  as 
the  occasion  of  your  celebration  the  convening  of 
the  Whitehall  Conference,  not  merely  because  of  its 
happy  illustration  of  the  fact  you  point  out,  that 
"  it  was  unique  testimony  to  the  change  which  was 
coming  over  the  world,"  "  Oliver  Cromwell  and  Ma- 
nasseh  ben  Israel — Puritan  and  Jew — then  stood  side 


by  side  as  immortal  champions  of  toleration  and  jus 
tice  " — names  which  we  in  America  also  hold  in  hon 
ored  memory — but  also  for  the  narrower  reason  that 
we,  as  well  as  you,  found  our  rights  builded  on  ada 
mantine  rock,  and  not  on  mere  sand,  when  English 
judges  solemnly  declared  at  Whitehall  that  "there  was 
no  law  which  forbade  the  Jews'  return  into  England." 
Lawyers  may  even  to-day  be  inclined  to  question  the 
correctness  of  this  exposition  of  the  English  common 
law  as  transmitted  from  the  "  Dark  Ages,"  but  Mr. 
Abrahams  has  given  us  a  conclusive  justification  and 
explanation  of  the  holding,  in  saying  that  it  was 
"  testimony  to  the  change  which  was  coming  over  the 
world,"  a  repudiation  of  Middle-Age  bigotry  and 
hateful,  unreasonable  discrimination.  The  full  por 
tent  of  the  declaration  may  not  have  been  recognized 
at  the  time,  and  Manasseh  ben  Israel  may  have  gone 
to  his  grave,  heartbroken  at  his  failure  to  secure  an 
affirmative  grant,  which  even  he  was  quite  ready  to 
accept  with  expressed  limitations  and  restrictions,  but 
he  "  builded  better  than  he  knew,"  and  could  safely 
leave  the  matter  to  an  all-wise  Providence !  Starting 
with  the  declaration  that  the  laws  did  not  forbid 
Jewish  settlement  on  English  soil,  neither  at  home 
nor  abroad,  Jewish  disabilities  disappeared  one  after 
the  other,  sometimes  quicker  and  with  less  effort  on 
our  newer  soil  than  at  home.  But  you  secured  for  us, 
almost  immediately  after  the  readmission,  without 
any  new  legislative  fiat,  the  holding  which  we  as  well 
as  you  profited  by,  that  Jews  were  competent  wit 
nesses,  entitled  to  equal  credit  with  the  non-Jew,  and, 
as  a  result,  the  whole  fabric  of  the  "  Oath  More  Ju- 
[238] 


daico  "  (the  discriminative  Jewish  oath)  disappeared 
on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  and  your  Council  for 
the  Plantations  solemnly  decreed,  in  1672,  in  the  case 
of  a  New  York  resident,  Rabba  Gouty,  that  Jewish 
freemen  on  British  soil  were  not  "  aliens  "  within  the 
meaning  of  your  Navigation  Laws,  and  your  For 
eign  Office  solemnly  asserted  in  1676,  in  the  case  of 
some  Jews  from  Surinam,  that  British  Jews  settled  in 
the  colonies  are  British  subjects,  entitled  to  British 
protection  against  attempts  of  a  foreign  government 
to  detain  them  involuntarily.  But  this  is  no  place  to 
elaborate  upon  incidents  we  commemorate  in  common, 
some  of  which  one  of  your  past-presidents  has  set 
forth  so  happily  in  his  paper  on  "  American  Elements 
in  the  Resettlement,"  and  which  we  of  the  American 
Jewish  Historical  Society  also  love  to  descant  upon. 
Let  it  suffice  to  say  that  we  dearly  cherish,  not  merely 
the  Jewish  traditions  and  ties  which  we  have  in  com 
mon,  but  also  those  currents  and  streams  of  a  common 
development  which  we  in  America  love  to  give  ex 
pression  to  when  we  still  call  England  "  Our  Mother 
Country,"  and  which  make  our  two  nations  allies  in 
seeking  the  maintenance  of  international  peace  and 
universal  good  will. 

And  it  is  particularly  gratifying  for  us  to  feel  that 
we  Jews,  scattered  among  all  the  nations  of  the  world, 
but  cherishing  our  common  ties  and  traditions  while 
at  the  same  time  being  loyal  patriots,  have  been  in 
the  past,  and  may  confidently  hope  for  the  future 
to  be,  most  potent  factors  in  bringing  about  universal 
"  peace  upon  earth  and  good  will  among  men,"  so 
that,  in  the  happy  language  of  the  author  of  the 
[239] 


"  Spectator,"  writing  already  in  1712,  Jews  "  are  in 
deed  so  disseminated  through  all  of  the  trading  parts 
of  the  world  that  they  have  become  the  instruments 
by  which  the  most  distant  nations  converse  with  one 
another,  and  by  which  mankind  are  knit  together  in 
a  general  correspondence.  They  are  like  the  pegs 
and  nails  in  a  great  building,  which,  though  they  are 
but  little  valued  in  themselves,  are  absolutely  neces 
sary  to  keep  the  whole  frame  together." 

Accept,  then,  on  our  behalf  our  most  heartfelt  good 
wishes  on  your  celebration,  and  congratulations  upon 
the  marvelous  achievements  of  your  two-hundred-and- 
fifty  year  history!  When  we  consider  only  a  few 
of  the  many  brilliant  stars  whose  names  illumine  your 
history,  we  cannot  but  wonder  at  the  marvelously 
high  degree  in  which  genius  has  flourished  in  your 
midst,  compared  with  the  small  Jewish  population 
from  which  it  has  developed.  Permit  us,  then,  to  re 
peat  your  own  happily  phrased  good  wishes,  drawn 
from  our  common  inheritance :  "  May  you  go  from 
strength  to  strength;  may  the  glory  of  your  coming 
time  excel  even  the  glory  of  your  past ! "  And 
though  both  your  celebration  and  ours  are,  most  un 
happily,  tinged  with  an  unanticipated  hue  by  the 
terrible  sufferings  that  have  suddenly  been  inflicted 
upon  our  brethren  in  Russia,  which  we  are  seeking, 
as  far  as  may  be,  to  alleviate  in  common,  yet  these 
celebrations  enable  us  to  rejoice  all  the  more  by  con 
trast,  that  our  "  lines  have  fallen  in  pleasant  places," 
and  to  express  from  the  bottom  of  our  hearts  our 
gratitude  to  our  respective  countries  for  granting  us 
absolute  equality  before  the  law;  and  we  may  have 


the  further  consciousness,  in  proudly  chronicling  our 
past,  that  we  may  thereby  afford  a  much-needed  ob 
ject-lesson  to  countries  less  imbued  with  the  modern 
spirit,  of  the  appreciation  of  our  respective  fellow- 
citizens  and  leaders  of  the  admirable  consequences 
that  have  flowed  from  the  granting  of  the  great  char 
ters  of  liberty  you  and  we  are  now  commemorating. 
We  are,  very  truly  yours, 

JACOB  H.  SCHIFF,  Chairman. 
MAX  J.  KOHLER,  Honorary  Secretary. 


[241  ] 


Ill 


(From  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  Notes  Relating  to  the 
Celebration  of  the  Two  Hundred  and  Fiftieth 
Anniversary  of  the  Settlement  of  the  Jews  in  the 
United  States,"  distributed  by  the  Executive 
Committee  some  weeks  before  the  celebration.) 


INTRODUCTION 

Two  hundred  and  fifty  years  having  elapsed  since 
the  first  settlement  of  the  Jews  in  the  United  States, 
by  common  accord  of  those  interested  in  the  Jewish 
people,  it  has  been  deemed  fitting  to  celebrate  and 
commemorate  this  important  anniversary. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  the  vestry  rooms  of  Shearith 
Israel  Congregation,  New  York,  on  April  9,  1905, 
which  was  largely  attended,  an  Executive  Committee 
was  appointed  to  take  charge  of  the  celebration,  with 
power  to  appoint  a  General  Committee  to  cooperate 
Such  a  committee  has  been  appointed,  with  repre 
sentatives  in  every  State  and  Territory,  and  in  most 
of  the  important  cities  of  the  Union. 

It  is  an  essential  feature  of  the  programme  adopted 
by  the  Executive  Committee  that  every  Jewish  con 
gregation  in  the  United  States  is  to  be  requested  to 
hold  appropriate  services  on  the  Saturday  (Novem 
ber  25th)  preceding  the  National  Thanksgiving  Day, 
1905,  and  that  every  Jewish  Sabbath  school  shall  be 
urged  to  hold  similar  services  on  the  Sunday  (Novem 
ber  26th)  preceding  Thanksgiving  Day,  to  the  end 


that  the  significance  of  the  event  which  is  to  be  cele 
brated  shall  be  thoroughly  impressed  upon  every 
American  Jew. 

Believing  that  this  object  can  be  best  subserved 
by  a  thorough  understanding,  based  on  accurate  in 
formation,  as  to  the  part  which  the  Jews  have  played 
in  the  development  of  this  nation  from  the  earliest 
days,  the  Executive  Committee  has  collated  a  number 
of  historical  facts,  which  have  a  direct  bearing  on 
American  Jewish  history,  conjoined  with  a  bibli 
ography  which  will  enable  those  desirous  of  pursuing 
further  investigations  to  become  possessed  of  the  his 
tory,  little  known  but  interesting,  of  the  Jewish 
pioneer.  Coupled  with  these  notes,  the  committee  has, 
through  the  courtesy  of  the  Funk  &  Wagnalls  Com 
pany,  been  enabled  to  reprint  from  the  "  Jewish  En 
cyclopedia,"  published  by  that  company,  a  compre 
hensive  article  on  "  America,"  and  a  section  of  another 
article  on  "New  York"  (the  former  as  a  separate 
pamphlet),  both  of  which  are  replete  with  valuable 
information. 

It  has  also  been  considered  appropriate  to  reprint 
from  The  American  Hebrew  an  address  delivered  on 
April  29,  1905,  before  "  The  Judaeans,"  as  exempli 
fying  the  point  of  view  from  which  this  celebration  is 
to  be  approached,  and  to  point  the  moral,  that  whilst 
every  American  Jew  is  profoundly  grateful  for  the 
liberties  which  he  enjoys,  in  common  with  all  other 
citizens,  under  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the 
United  States,  he  does  not  regard  those  blessings  as  a 
mere  gift  from  others,  but  as  of  right  his,  because 
his  ancestors  were  among  the  early  settlers  and 


pioneers  of  this  country ;  were  active  in  its  develop 
ment;  fought  for  its  independence  and  preservation; 
and  because,  to  the  full  extent  of  his  power,  he  has 
contributed  to  its  greatness. 

THE  EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE. 


NOTES 


The  year  1655  stands  forth  as  a  convenient  land 
mark  for  celebration  of  Jewish  settlement  in  the 
United  States  by  reason  of  the  issuance  of  a  "  Grant 
of  Privileges,"  on  April  26,  1655,  to  the  Jews  of  New 
Amsterdam  by  the  Dutch  West  India  Company.  This 
grant  of  privileges  was  issued  in  answer  to  remon 
strances  from  Governor  Stuyvesant. 

(Daly's  "  Settlement  of  the  Jews  m  North 
America,"  p.  9,  note,  copied  from  "  Docu 
ments  Relating  to  the  Colonial  History  of 
the  State  of  New  York,"  vol.  xiv,  p.  315; 
also,  "  Publications  American  Jewish  Hist. 
Society"  vi,  p.  85.) 

ii 

There  were  stray  Jewish  arrivals  within  the  present 
limits  of  the  United  States  before  the  party  of  twenty- 
three  arrived  at  New  Amsterdam  about  September  1, 
1654,  concerning  whom,  in  particular,  these  instruc 
tions  were  issued,  but  they  do  not  seem  to  have  arrived 


in  considerable  numbers  nor  under  any  express  au 
thorization. 

(See  article  "  America,"  by  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler,  m 
Jewish  Encyclopedia,  vol.  i.) 

There  were  also  very  extensive  early  Jewish  settle 
ments  in  South  America  long  before  this  period, 
though  made  originally  by  "  Maranos "  (secret 
Jews,  living  ostensibly  as  Catholics,  owing  to  the  laws 
against  Jewish  residence),  but  these  settlements  had 
now  (1655)  practically  ceased  to  exist. 

(See,  for  particulars  as  to  "  Participation  of 
Jews  in  the  Discovery  and  Early  Settlement 
of  South  America,"  besides  the  article 
"  America  "  above  referred  to,  Jewish  En 
cyclopedia  articles,  "  America,  The  Discov 
ery  of  "  (by  Dr.  M.  Kayserling),  "  United 
States  "  (by  Dr.  Herbert  Friedenwald  and 
J.  D.  Eisenstein),  "Brazil"  (by  L.  Buhner), 
"Bahia"  (by  L.  Hiihner),  "Recife"  (by 
L.  Htihner),  "  South  and  Central  America  " 
(by  Joseph  Jacobs  and  Elkan  N.  Adler), 
"Chile"  (by  Rev.  George  A.  Kohut), 
"  Cuba  "  (by  Max  J.  Kohler),  "  Curacao  " 
(by  Dr.  H.  Friedenwald),  "  Barbados  "  (by 
Dr.  H.  Friedenwald),  and  "Jamaica"  (by 
Max  J.  Kohler);  also  Dr.  M.  Kayserling's 
"  Christopher  Columbus  and  the  Participa 
tion  of  the  Jews  in  the  Spanish  and  Portu 
guese  Discoveries,"  translated  by  Dr.  Charles 
Gross;  "  The  Colonization  of  America  by  the 
[245] 


Jews"  by  Dr.  M.  Kayserling  (Pub.  Am.  Jew. 
Hist.  Society  ii);  "  Columbus  in  Jewish  Lit 
erature,"  by  Prof.  R.  J.  H.  Gottheil  (Id. 
ii);  "  The  Earliest  Rabbis  and  Jewish  Writ 
ers  of  America,"  by  Dr.  M.  Kayserling  (Id. 
Hi);  "  Early  Jewish  Literature  in  America," 
by  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Kohut  (Id.  Hi) ;  "  Trial  of 
Jorge  de  Almeida  by  the  Inquisition  in  Amer 
ica,"  by  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler  (Id.  iv);  "  Jewish 
Martyrs  of  the  Inquisition  in  South  Amer 
ica,"  by  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Kohut  (Id.  iv);  "  Isaac 
Aboab,  the  -first  Jewish  Author  in  America," 
by  Dr.  M.  Kayserling  (Id.  v) ;  "  Trial  of 
Gabriel  de  Granada,  by  the  Inquisition  in 
Mexico  1642-1645,"  translated  by  David 
Ferguson  and  edited  by  Dr.  Cyrus  Adler  (Id. 
vii);  "  The  Inquisition  in  Peru,19  by  Elkan 
N.  Adler  (Id.  xii);  Castelar's  "  Life  of  Co 
lumbus  "  (see  Jewish  references  extracted 
in  "  Publications  Am.  Jew.  Hist.  So 
ciety,  viii,  pp.  2-5,  x,  159-163);  Daly's 
"  Settlement  of  the  Jews  in  North  America  " 
(pp.  xi-xviii);  Magnus's  "  Outlines  of  Jew 
ish  History  "  (Jew.  Pub.  Society  edition,  pp. 
834-340);  Markens:  "The  Hebrews  m 
America.99) 

The  fact  is  to  be  noted  that  Jews  not  only  accom 
panied  Columbus  on  his  first  voyage,  but  that  the 
Maranos,  Luis  de  Santangel  and  Gabriel  Sanchez, 
were  among  his  chief  patrons  and  largely  provided 
the  funds  for  his  voyage.  As  Prof.  Herbert  B. 
[246] 


Adams  (Johns  Hopkins  Studies,  x,  p.  486)  has  well 
said,  in  summarizing  Dr.  Kayserling's  investigations, 
"  not  jewels  but  Jews  were  the  real  financial  basis 
for  the  first  expedition  of  Columbus."  Accordingly, 
it  is  not  strange  that  Columbus's  first  accounts  of 
his  discovery  were  in  the  form  of  letters  addressed  by 
him  to  Santangel  and  Sanchez. 

in 

The  importance  of  this  Dutch  Grant  of  Leave  of 
Settlement  lies  largely  in  the  fact  that  at  this  time 
(1655)  nearly  all  of  Western  Europe  was  closed  to 
the  Jews.  Spain  had  expelled  them  in  1492,  Portugal 
following  her  example  soon  after,  and  the  Inquisition 
was  engaged  in  enforcing  these  decrees  of  expulsion. 
In  England  the  decree  of  expulsion  of  King  Edward 
I  of  July  18,  1290,  was  deemed  to  be  still  in  force, 
though  Menasseh  ben  Israel  presented  his  "  Humble 
Address  "  to  Cromwell  in  September  of  this  very  year, 
1655,  and  the  "  Whitehall  Conference  "  which  Crom 
well  convened  in  December,  1655,  resolved  that  there 
was  nothing  in  the  English  laws  against  the  Jews  re 
siding  in  England,  though  nothing  definite  came  for 
the  time  being  of  plans  for  an  affirmative  grant  of 
leave  of  settlement. 

(See  Lucien  Wolf:  "  Menasseh  ben  Israel  and 
His  Mission  to  Oliver  Cromwell,"  and  Joseph 
Jacobs9  article  "  England  "  in  "  Jewish  En 
cyclopedia.") 

Similarly,  in  France,  edicts  of  exclusion  were  pe 
riodically    in    force    against    the    Jews    (see    article 
"  France  "  in  the  "  Jewish  Encyclopedia  " ) ,  as  also 
[247] 


in  many  sections  of  Germany.  The  Netherlands 
alone,  of  Western  Europe,  recognized  Jewish  rights, 
after  they  had  succeeded  in  wresting  their  own  liber 
ties,  civil  and  religious,  from  Spanish  despotism,  and, 
beginning  about  1593,  began  to  welcome  Jewish  set 
tlement  in  various  localities  [Graetz :  "  History  of 
the  Jews  "  (Eng.  transl.,  vol.  iv,  p.  650  et  seq.),  and 
Jew.  Ency.  article  "Netherlands"],  particularly  in 
Amsterdam,  whose  constituent  "  chamber "  of  the 
Dutch  West  India  Company  had  charge  of  the  colo 
nial  possessions  in  Brazil  and  New  Netherlands.  The 
exceptional  position  of  Amsterdam  in  this  respect,  at 
practically  the  same  time  that  it  afforded  a  haven  of 
rest  to  the  persecuted  Puritans,  is  aptly  characterized 
by  Judge  Daly  in  his  "  Settlement  of  the  Jews  in 
North  America"  (p.  3)  as  follows: 

"  Amsterdam  presented  the  spectacle  of  a  city 
where  all  religions  were  tolerated,  and  where  men  of 
all  shades  of  political  opinion  found  themselves  secure 
in  their  persons  and  property.  By  a  writer  of  that 
day  it  was  stigmatized  as  6  a  common  harbor  of  all 
opinions  and  of  all  heresies.'  By  another,  in  the 
figurative  language  then  in  fashion,  '  as  a  cage  of 
unclean  birds,'  and  even  Andrew  Marvel,  the  friend 
of  Milton  and  the  incorruptible  patriot,  wrote  a  de 
risive  poem  upon  Holland,  in  which  Amsterdam  was 
described  with  its  mixed  population  of  '  Turk,  Chris 
tian,  Pagan,  Jew,'  its  '  bank  of  conscience,'  where 
6  all  opinions  found  credit  and  exchange,'  closing  his 
poem  with  a  line  which  he  certainly  meant  in  no  spirit 
of  compliment: 

'  The  universal  church  is  only  there.'  ' 
[248] 


Compare  Jewish  experiences  in  early  Maryland: 

(Prof.  J.  H.  Hollander:  "Some  Unpublished 
Material  Relating  to  Dr.  Jacob  Lumbrozo  " 
(Pub.  i,  25  et  seq.),  and  "  Civil  Status  of 
Jews  in  Maryland,  1634-1776,"  (Pub.  ii, 
33  et  seq.) 

Contrast,  however,  such  utterances  as  Roger  Wil 
liams',  specifically  demanding  Jewish  emancipation, 

(Oscar  S.  Straus:  "  Life  of  Roger  Williams  " 
(pp.  110,  111),  quoted  also  in  M.  J.  Kohler: 
"  The  Jews  in  Newport  "  (Pub.  Am.  Jew. 
Hist.  Society,  vi,  65.) 

and  also  those  of  a  few  other  of  Cromwell's  contem 
poraries  (Wolf:  "  Menasseh  ben  Israel,"  p.  xviii,  et 
seq.),  including  John  Milton,  in  contradistinction  to 
those  of  such  types  of  contemporary  American  Puri 
tanism  as  Cotton  Mather,  who  in  his  "  Magnalia  " 
characterized  Roger  Williams'  settlement  at  New 
port,  where  Jews  were  welcomed  soon  after  1655,  for 
this  very  reason  as  "  the  common  receptacle  of  the 
convicts  of  Jerusalem  and  the  outcasts  of  the  land  " 
(quoted  in  Pub.  Am.  Jew.  Hist.  Society  vi.,  65-6). 
On  the  general  subject  of  Dutch  liberality  in  this  re 
spect,  see  Daly's  "  Settlement "  Introduction,  p.  xiv 
and  p.  4 ;  "  Publications  "  Am.  Jew.  Hist.  Society  vi, 
81  et  seq.  "  Civil  Status  of  the  Jews  in  Colonial  New 
York  "  and  Douglass  Campbell :  "  The  Puritan  in 
England,  Holland,  and  America  " ) . 

On  America's  contributions  to  civilization  as  pio- 
[249] 


neer  in  establishing  religious  liberty,  with  particu 
lar  reference  to  the  Jews,  see  "  Phases  in  the  History 
of  Religious  Liberty  in  America,  with  Special  Refer 
ence  to  the  Jews,"  by  M.  J.  Kohler,  in  "  Pub.  Am. 
Jew.  Hist.  Society,  xi,  53  et  seq.,  quoting  David 
Dudley  Field  ("  American  Progress  in  Jurispru 
dence  "  in  the  American  Law  Review,  vol.  xxvii,  p. 
641,  [1893])  and  Judge  Simeon  E.  Baldwin  ("Mod 
ern  Political  Institutions,"  pp.  15-25,  246),  note  p. 
59 ;  Oscar  S.  Straus :  "  Religious  Liberty  in  the 
United  States  "  and  also  his  "  Origin  of  Republican 
Form  of  Government  in  the  United  States  of  Amer 
ica,"  second  edition,  with  introductory  essay  by 
Ernile  de  Laveleye,  translated  from  the  French  edi 
tion.  See  this  work  also  for  development  of  the  theory 
of  American  indebtedness  to  the  Hebrew  for  the  origin 
of  Republican  form  of  government. 

IV 

The  pronounced  success  and  prosperity  of  the  Jews 
in  Holland  is  indicated  in  the  works  already  cited  and 
the  bibliographies  forming  a  part  of  the  several  Jew 
ish  Encyclopedia  articles. 

(Compare  article  "  Commerce,"  by  Joseph  Ja 
cobs  in  "  Jewish  Encyclopedia,"  Herzf eld's 
"  Handelsgeschichte  der  Juden,"  Roscher: 
"  Die  Juden  im  Mittelalter  "  (in,"  Ansichten 
der  VolJcswirthschaft,"  ii,  321  et  seq.),  M.  J. 
Kohler:  "  Jewish  Activity  in  American  Colo 
nial  Commerce  "  (in  Pub.  Am.  Jew.  Hist. 
[250] 


Society,  x,  p.  47),  and  Israel  Zangwill: 
"  What  Have  the  Hebrews  Accomplished?  " 
"  Success,"  M ay,  1902.) 

Their  activities  in  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
as  heavy  stockholders  and  directors,  and  as  influential 
in  directing  its  fortunes  from  the  start,  are  matters 
of  record. 

(Grant  of  privileges  of  April  26,  1655,  quoted 
above;  Daly:  "Settlement  of  the  Jews  in 
North  America,"  pp.  xv-xvii,  5,  9;  article  on 
"  Netherlands  "  in  "  Jewish  Encyclopedia," 
and  works  cited  in  bibliographical  note 
thereto.) 


The  circumstances  under  which  this  "  Grant 
of  Privileges  "  was  issued,  and  the  evolution  of  the 
Jewish  community  of  New  York,  the  oldest,  and,  to 
day,  by  far  the  largest  within  the  present  limits  of 
the  United  States,  are  concisely  outlined  in  the  "  Jew 
ish  Encyclopedia,"  article  "  New  York  "  (by  Max  J. 
Kohler),  where  the  subject  is  treated  more  fully  than 
was  possible  in  the  article  "  America." 

VI 

For  further  particulars  concerning  the  history  of 
the  Jews  in  the  United  States  see  the  various  works 
cited  in  the  bibliographies  of  the  articles,  "  Amer 
ica  "  and  "  New  York,"  in  the  "  Jewish  Encyclo 
pedia,"  as  also  the  various  articles  under  the  names 
of  the  various  States  and  large  cities,  as  well  as  the 
[251] 


cross  references;  also  the  twelve  volumes  of  the  pub 
lications  of  the  American  Jewish  Historical  Society. 

vn 

For  correspondence  between  Jews  of  America  and 
our  early  Presidents,  Washington,  Adams,  Jefferson, 
and  Madison,  see  "  Publications "  Am.  Jew.  Hist. 
Society  iii,  87-101 ;  iv,  219-222,  xi,  63,  66,  68;  Com 
pare  Simon  Wolf :  "  The  American  Jew  as  Patriot, 
Soldier,  and  Citizen,"  especially  pp.  53-61,  488-522. 

vm 

During  the  week  including  April  26,  1905,  the 
"  Judaean  "  Club,  of  New  York,  celebrated  the  two 
hundred  and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  Jewish  settlement 
in  America  at  the  Hotel  Savoy,  and  the  introductory 
address  of  a  series  of  addresses,  delivered  by  Louis 
Marshall,  Esq.,  emphasized  the  purposes  of  the  cele 
bration.  It  was  printed  in  The  American  Hebrew  of 
May  5,  1905,  and  in  the  Menordh  Monthly,  May, 
1905. 


[252] 


IV 


ORDER  OF  SERVICE  FOR  USE  ON  THE  SABBATH 
BEFORE  THANKSGIVING  DAY,  NINETEEN  HUNDRED 
AND  FIVE,  IN  COMMEMORATION  OF  THE  TWO 
HUNDRED  AND  FIFTIETH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  THE 
SETTLEMENT  OF  THE  JEWS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

PREPARED  BY  A  COMMITTEE  CONSISTING  OF  REV. 
DR.  H.  PEREIRA  MENDES  (Chairman),  REV.  DR.  M.  H. 
HARRIS,  REV.  DR.  PHILIP  KLEIN,  REV.  DR.  K.  KOII- 
LER,  DR.  S.  SCHECHTER,  REV.  DR.  SAMUEL  SCHUL- 
MAN  and  REV.  DR.  JOSEPH  SILVERMAN 

ORDER  OF  SERVICE 

(To  be  recited  before  the  return  of  the  Scroll  of  the 
Law  to  the  Ark) 

1.  HYMN. 

(To  be  chosen  by  the  Congregation) 

2.  PSALM  CVIL 

(  To  be  read  in  responses  by  the  Minister  and  the  Con 
gregation) 

3.  PSALM  CXVIII.     VERSES  1-24. 

(To  be  chanted  by  the  Reader  and  Choir) 

4.  PRAYER. 

O  Lord,  our  God,  God  of  our  fathers,  Ruler  of  na 
tions,  we  worship  Thee  and  praise  Thy  name  for  Thy 


mercy  and  for  Thy  truth.  On  this  day  of  our  re 
joicing  we  will  make  mention  of  Thy  loving  kindness 
according  to  all  that  Thou  hast  bestowed  on  us  and 
we  will  proclaim  Thy  great  goodness  toward  the  house 
of  Israel.  For  Thou  didst  say,  Surely  they  are  My 
people,  children  that  will  not  deal  falsely;  so  Thou 
hast  been  our  Savior. 

Throughout  the  past  ages  Thou  hast  carried  Israel 
as  on  eagles'  wings.  From  the  bondage  of  Egypt, 
through  the  trials  of  the  wilderness,  Thou  didst  bring 
us  and  didst  plant  us  in  the  land  which  Thou  didst 
choose.  In  the  sorrows  of  Babylon,  Thy  love  and 
pity  redeemed  us;  and  when  dispersed  in  every  land, 
Thy  Divine  presence  accompanied  us  in  every  afflic 
tion.  Yea,  when  we  passed  through  the  waters,  Thou 
wast  with  us,  and  through  the  rivers,  they  did  not 
overflow  us ;  when  we  walked  through  fire,  we  were  not 
burned.  From  nation  to  nation  Thou  didst  lead  us, 
until  the  hand  of  the  oppressor  was  weakened  and  the 
day  of  human  rights  began  to  dawn.  Wherever  we 
found  a  resting  place,  and  built  Thee  a  sanctuary, 
Thou  didst  dwell  in  our  midst,  and  cleaving  unto 
Thee,  O  Lord,  we  are  alive  this  day. 

We  thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast  sustained  us  unto 
this  day,  and  that  in  the  fullness  of  Thy  mercy  Thou 
hast  vouchsafed  to  us  of  the  seed  of  Israel  a  soil  on 
which  to  grow  strong  in  freedom  and  in  fidelity  to 
Thy  truth.  Thou  hast  opened  unto  us  this  blessed 
haven  of  our  beloved  land.  Everlasting  God,  in 
whose  eyes  a  thousand  years  are  as  yesterday  which 
is  past  and  as  a  watch  of  the  night,  we  lift  up  our 
hearts  in  gratitude  to  Thee,  in  that  two  hundred  and 


fifty  years  ago  Thou  didst  guide  a  little  band  of 
Israel's  children  who,  seeking  freedom  to  worship 
Thee,  found  it  in  a  land  which,  with  Thy  blessing, 
became  a  refuge  of  freedom  and  justice  for  the  op 
pressed  of  all  peoples.  We  thank  Thee  that  our  lot 
has  fallen  in  pleasant  places.  Verily,  O  Lord  God  of 
Israel,  Thou  hast  given  rest  unto  Thy  people,  rest 
from  our  sorrow,  and  from  the  hard  bondage  wherein 
we  were  made  to  serve. 

O  Lord,  look  down  from  Thy  holy  habitation  from 
heaven  and  bless  this  Republic.  Preserve  it  in  the 
liberty  which  has  been  proclaimed  in  the  land,  and  in 
the  righteousness  which  is  its  foundation.  Bless  it 
with  prosperity  and  peace.  May  it  advance  from 
strength  to  strength  and  continue  to  be  a  refuge  for 
all  who  seek  its  shelter.  Imbue  all  its  citizens  with 
a  spirit  of  loyalty  to  its  ideals.  May  they  be  ever 
mindful  that  the  blessings  of  liberty  are  safeguarded 
by  obedience  to  law,  and  that  the  prosperity  of  the 
nation  rests  upon  trust  in  Thy  goodness  and  reverence 
for  Thy  commandments.  Bless  the  President  and  his 
counselors,  the  judges,  lawgivers,  and  executives  of 
our  country.  Put  forth  upon  them  the  spirit  of  wis 
dom  and  understanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  the 
spirit  of  might,  the  spirit  of  knowledge  and  the  fear 
of  the  Lord.  May  America  become  a  light  to  all 
peoples,  teaching  the  world  that  righteousness  ex- 
alteth  a  nation. 

Our  Father  in  Heaven,  Who  lovest  all  nations,  all 

men  are  Thy  children.     Thou  dost  apportion  tasks 

to  peoples  according  to  their  gifts  of  mind  and  heart. 

But  all  are  revealing  Thy  marvelous  plans  for  man- 

[255] 


kind.  May  the  day  speedily  dawn  when  Thy  king 
dom  will  be  established  on  earth,  when  nations  shall 
learn  war  no  more,  when  peace  shall  be  the  crowning 
reward  of  a  world  redeemed  by  justice,  and  all  men 
shall  know  Thee,  from  the  greatest  unto  the  least. 
Then  shall  loving  kindness  and  truth  meet,  righteous 
ness  and  peace  kiss  each  other,  truth  spring  forth 
from  earth  and  righteousness  look  down  from  heaven. 
May  all  hearts  serve  Thee  with  one  accord  and  recog 
nize  that  Thou  art  One  and  Thy  Name  is  One. 
Amen. 

5.  RETURN  OF  THE  SCROLL  OF  THE  LAW 
TO  THE  ARK. 


[256] 


COMMITTEES   IN   CHARGE    OF  THE 
GENERAL   CELEBRATION 

EXECUTIVE    COMMITTEE 
JACOB  H.  SCHIFF,  Chairman 

Dr.  Cyrus  Adler 

Hon.  Samuel  Greenbaum 

Daniel  Guggenheim 

Prof.  Jacob  H.  Hollander 

Max  J.  Kohler,  Honorary  Secretary 

Hon.  Edward  Lauterbach 

Adolph  Lewisohn 

Louis  Marshall 

Rev.  Dr.  H.  Pereira  Mendes 

Hon.  N.  Taylor  Phillips 

Hon.  Simon  W.  Rosendale 

William  Salomon 

Isaac  N.  Seligman,  Treasurer 

Louis  Stern 

Hon.  Oscar  S.  Straus 

Hon.  Mayer  Sulzberger 


[257] 


GENERAL    COMMITTEE 

ALABAMA. — Jacques  Loeb,  Rev.  Alfred  G.  Moses. 

ALASKA. — Hon.  Harry  L.  Cohn. 

ARIZONA. — Lionel  M.  Jacobs. 

ARKANSAS. — Morris  M.  Cohn,  Hon.  Jacob  Triber. 

CALIFORNIA. — Bernard  Bienenfeld,  Hon.  Julius 
Kahn,  Jesse  Lilienthal,  Prof.  Max  Margolis,  Gen. 
Edward  Salomon,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  Voorsanger,  Harris 
Weinstock. 

COLORADO. — Rev.  Dr.  W.  S.  Friedman,  Simon 
Guggenheim. 

CONNECTICUT. — Rev.  David  Levy,  Prof.  Lafayette 
Mendel. 

DELAWARE. — Charles  Van  Leer. 

DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA. — Emil  Berliner,  Col.  C. 
H.  Lauchheimer,  Dr.  Milton  Rosenau,  A.  S.  Solo 
mons,  Hon.  Simon  Wolf. 

FLORIDA. — Adolph  Greenhut. 

GEORGIA. — Jacob  Haas,  Robert  Loveman,  Abra 
ham  Minis,  Hon.  Herman  Myers. 

IDAHO. — Hon.  M.  Alexander. 

ILLINOIS. — Hon.  Samuel  Altschuler,  Rev.  Dr.  B. 
Felsenthal,  Henry  L.  Frank,  Harry  Hart,  Rev.  Dr. 
Emil  G.  Hirsch,  Hon.  Adolf  Kraus,  Hon.  Julian  W. 
Mack,  Julius  Rosenwald,  Rev.  Dr.  T.  Schanfarber, 
Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Stolz,  Henry  M.  Wolf,  Samuel 
Woolner. 

INDIAN  TERRITORY. — Hon.  Louis  Sulzbacher. 
[258] 


INDIANA. — Rev.  Charles  I.  Hoffman,  Henry  Rauh. 

IOWA. — Rev.  Eugene  Mannheimer. 

KANSAS. — Charles  Cohen,  Henry  Ettenson,  Louis 
Michael. 

KENTUCKY. — Isaac  W.  Bernheim,  Lewis  N.  Dem- 
bitz,  Rev.  H.  G.  Enelow. 

LOUISIANA. — William  Adler,  Rev.  Dr.  Max  Heller, 
Hon.  Benj.  F.  Jonas,  Rev.  Dr.  Isaac  Leucht,  Isidor 
Neuman. 

MAINE. — L.  Abramson. 

MARYLAND. — Dr.  Harry  Friedenwald,  Rev.  Dr. 
A.  Guttmacher,  Rev.  A.  Kaiser,  Hon.  Isidor  Rayner, 
Rev.  Dr.  Wm.  Rosenau,  Rev.  C.  A.  Rubinstein,  Rev. 
H.  W.  Schneeberger,  Sigmund  B.  Sonneborn. 

MASSACHUSETTS. — Rev.  Charles  Fleischer,  Lee  M. 
Friedman,  Prof.  Charles  Gross,  Rev.  Philip  I. 
Israelite. 

MICHIGAN. — Rev.  Leo  M.  Franklin,  David  E. 
Heineman,  Prof.  Max  Winkler. 

MINNESOTA. — Emanuel  Cohen,  W.  H.  Elzinger, 
Rev.  I.  L.  Rypins. 

MISSISSIPPI. — Rev.  Wolf  Willner,  Rev.  S.  L.  Kory. 

MISSOURI. — Hon.  Nathan  Frank,  Rev.  Dr.  L.  Har 
rison,  Prof.  Isidor  Loeb,  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Sale,  Wil 
liam  Stix,  Martin  Wollman. 

MONTANA. — Henry  L.  Frank. 

NEBRASKA. — Rev.  Frederick  Cohn,  Edward  Rose- 
water. 

NEVADA. — M.  Badt. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE. — Julius  Katz. 

NEW  JERSEY. — Nathan  Barnert,  M.  L.  Bayard, 
Rev.  Solomon  Foster. 

[259] 


NEW  MEXICO. — Rev.  Louis  J.  Kaplan,  Solomon 
Spiegelberg. 

NEW  YORK. — Rev.  Dr.  Israel  Aaron,  A.  Abraham, 
B.  Altman,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Asher,  Rev.  Raphael 
Benjamin,  Julius  Bien,  Nathan  Bijur,  David  Blau- 
stein,  Dr.  Mark  Blumenthal,  Arnold  W.  Brunner, 
Joseph  L.  Buttenwieser,  Isidor  Byk,  Abraham  Cahan, 
Joseph  H.  Cohen,  Philip  Cowen,  Rev.  Dr.  B.  Drach- 
man,  Hon.  Nathaniel  A.  Elsberg,  David  L.  Einstein, 
J.  D.  Eisenstein,  Dr.  Lee  K.  Frankel,  A.  S.  Freidus, 
Hon.  Henry  M.  Goldfogle,  Samuel  Gompers,  Rev.  Dr. 
A.  Guttmann,  Prof.  R.  J.  H.  Gottheil,  Rev.  Dr.  R. 
Grossman,  Rev. Dr. M.H.Harris,  Daniel  P.  Hays,  H. 
Herskovitz,  Hon.  M.  H.  Hirschberg,  Leon  Hiihner, 
Dr.  H.  Illoway,  I.  S.  Isaacs,  Dr.  Nathan  Jacobson, 
Joseph  Jacobs,  Nathan  S.  Jonas,  Joshua  Kantrowitz, 
Rev.  Dr.  Philip  Klein,  Rev.  Dr.  M.  Landsberg, 
Emanuel  Lehman,  Irving  Lehman,  Dr.  H.  M.  Leip- 
ziger,  Dr.  S.  N.  Leo,  Hon.  David  Leventritt,  Ferdi 
nand  Levy,  L.  Napoleon  Levy,  Hon.  Lucius  N.  Lit- 
tauer,  Louis  Loeb,  Prof.  Morris  Loeb,  Albert  Lucas, 
Rev.  Alexander  Lyons,  Jacob  W.  Mack,  Rev.  Dr.  J. 
L.  Magnes,  Dr.  M.  Manges,  Joseph  S.  Marcus,  Hon. 
Louis  W.  Marcus,  Marcus  M.  Marks,  Rev.  H.  Ma- 
sliansky,  Hon.  Julius  M.  Mayer,  Rev.  Dr.  F.  de  Sola 
Mendes,  Percival  S.  Menken,  Baruch  Miller,  Henry 
Morgenthau,  Rev.  Dr.  I.  S.  Moses,  Henry  Mosler, 
Edgar  J.  Nathan,  Frederick  Nathan,  Max  Nathan, 
Hon.  Joseph  E.  Newburger,  Adolph  S.  Ochs,  M. 
Warley  Platzek,  Rev.  S.  Rappaport,  Henry  Rice, 
A.  N.  Rothholz,  Jacob  Saphirstein,  E.  Sarasohn,  Dr. 
S.  Schechter,  Rev.  Dr.  S.  Schulman,  James  Seligman, 
[260] 


Rev.  Dr.  J.  Silverman,  Leopold  Stern,  M.  S.  Stern, 
Hon.  Isidor  Straus,  Samuel  Strauss,  Cyrus  L.  Sulz- 
berger,  Isaac  Wallach,  Jonas  Weil,  Julius  M.  Wile, 
Dr.  A.  L.  Wolbarst,  Capt.  E.  L.  Zalinski,  Rev.  Dr. 
L.  Zinsler. 

NORTH  CAROLINA. — Rev.  S.  Mendelsohn. 

NORTH  DAKOTA. — Max  Stern. 

OHIO. — Edward  M.  Baker,  Bernhard  Bettman, 
Rev.  Dr.  M.  J.  Gries,  Rev.  Dr.  Louis  Grossman,  Dr. 
K.  Kohler,  Rev.  Dr.  D.  Philipson,  Dr.  Joseph  Ranso- 
hoff,  Hon.  Jacob  Schroder,  Hon.  Lewis  Seasongood, 
Max  Senior,  Leo  Wise,  Rev.  George  Zepin. 

OKLAHOMA. — Seymour  C.  Hey  man. 

OREGON. — Hon.  Joseph  Simon,  Rev.  Dr.  Stephen 
S.  Wise. 

PENNSYLVANIA. — Rev.  Dr.  H.  Berkowitz,  Charles 
J.  Cohen,  Hon.  Josiah  Cohen,  Dr.  S.  Solis  Cohen,  Dr. 
Herbert  Friedenwald,  Louis  Gerstley,  William  B. 
Hackenburg,  Bernard  Harris,  Max  Herzberg,  Rev. 
Dr.  Joseph  Krauskopf,  Rev.  B.  L.  Levinthal,  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  Leonard  Levy,  Morris  Newburger,  Hon.  Geo. 
W.  Ochs,  Hon.  Jacob  Singer,  David  Sulzberger, 
Seligman  J.  Strauss. 

PORTO  Rico.— Hon.  Adolph  G.  Wolf. 

RHODE  ISLAND. — Eugene  Schreier. 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. — Rev.  Dr.  B.  A.  Elzas,  J.  Moul- 
ton  Mordecai. 

SOUTH  DAKOTA. — S.  Kuh. 

TENNESSEE.— H.  C.  Adler,  Rev.  Dr.  M.  Samfield. 

TEXAS. — Rev.  Henry  Cohen. 

UTAH. — Jacob  Bamberger. 

VERMONT. — H.  H.  Rosenberg. 
[261] 


VIRGINIA. — Rev.  Dr.  E.  N.  Calisch. 
WASHINGTON. — Leo  Kohn. 
WEST  VIRGINIA. — Rev.  Harry  Levi. 
WISCONSIN. — Rev.     Samuel    Hirschberg,    A. 
Rich. 

WYOMING. — N.  Lewis. 


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